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Chapter Text

An ancient legend has it that another form of firebending exists.

A special, but long ago lost firebending technique which goes back to the dawn of time.

This power gives its user infinite possibilities.

I t is called the power of the Red Dragon.

❁

134 AG (After Genocide of Air Nomads)

Capital Island, Fire Nation

It was a sunny day, a slight comfortable breeze was blowing through Capital City. The sun was high in the sky when a little cry rose in the room. A woman, who was lying in a bed, smiled as small tears were running down her exhausted face. 

After hours of pain, her baby was finally born. Her husband was carrying their newborn child in his arms and walked to his wife’s side, showing her their baby’s face.

The little one was crying, eyes squeezed from the pain of cutting the umbilical cord. The mother tried to soothe her kid, caressing the small chubby cheeks covered by tears. 

Feeling her warm touch, the sobbings ceased little by little until the newborn’s face became calm and serene. The couple smiled at each other, seeing the baby sleeping peacefully.

“Say hi to Mom and Dad,” she said, kissing her kid’s small forehead.

The baby fidgeted a little in the blanket before waking up. The small golden eyes slowly opened and met sunlight for the first time.

They both looked at their child with amazement. The infant’s eyes shined for a few seconds, before returning to a normal state, staying in a bright gold color, as if little flames were dancing in them.

Fire Sages Temple, Fire Nation

“High Sage Jii! High Sage Jii!” 

A young man was hastily running in the corridor of the Fire Sages Temple. Hearing someone call his name, High Sage Jii, the highest-ranked sage, stopped walking and turned to his interlocutor.

“What is it? Why are you running like that?” He asked, giving the young apprentice a severe reproving look. 

The novice Fire Sage was out of breath when he reached to his superior. He bent down, gasping, to catch his breath. 

“Avatar Roku…” He began saying but only his breathing persisted, making the rest of his sentence inaudible. He put his hands on his knees, still trying to breathe normally.

“What about Avatar Roku?” Jii impatiently sighed, looking down at the tired student. 

“Eyes… Statue…” He mumbled again. Taking a last deep breath, the young apprentice raised and stood straight, staring at High Sage Jii. “The eyes of Avatar Roku’s statue glowed for a few seconds while we were cleaning his sanctuary,” he finally succeeded in declaring in an intelligible voice.

Jii stayed stunned at those words, eyes wide. “What in the world happened?”

Air Temple Island, Yue Bay

Aang suddenly opened his eyes, stopping immediately his meditation time. He felt something deep inside of him and ran towards the room where all the past Avatars’ statues were lined up in a multi-level spiral.

When he opened the large door of that room, his eyes widened in surprise. Some statues had their eyes flickering in a golden light. 

The Avatar came closer, to look at this unbelievable phenomenon, walking past the first statues that had their eyes shining unsteadily. He stopped in the middle of the passage and looked up to the other gleaming statues. The light repeated every four statues, meaning that only one element was concerned.

He went down, standing in front of the first shining statue. It was his predecessor, Avatar Roku.

Chapter Text

On an ordinary spring night, at an hour when all the shops were already closed, the lights were still on in an old tea shop. The Red Dragon was the oldest tea shop in the shopping district. Two dragon statues were standing guard at the entrance of the two-level house, the upper level being the living area with the lower level being the shop floor. 

The interior was spacious, and many tables were scattered around the simply decorated space. Located at the back of the room stood a counter with two small red dragon statues standing on it. Behind the counter was a massive cupboard that stored all varieties of tea served in the shop. 

Opened just after the coronation of Fire Lord Zuko, the shop was considered one of the best tea shops in town and had been serving tea and sweets since then.

On this peaceful night, The Red Dragon tea shop was still lively. Nanami was celebrating her eleventh birthday with her family and the young girl was sitting at one of the round tables, between her older brother and sister, Shuu and Manami. 

“You’re a big girl now Nanami!” Shuu exclaimed, ruffling his youngest sister’s hair.

Her grandmother Masuko, elegantly dressed as always, came through a passage that connected the customers’ area to the kitchen. She placed the jasmine tea she had brought on the turntable and sat next to her oldest granddaughter. 

Her grandfather Nobuo came next, whistling and dancing, with seven teacups and poured each person their tea before taking a seat next to his wife. Her mother Akemi then entered with crockery and cutlery, followed by her father Kouichi who was carrying the round birthday cake.

"Happy birthday Nanami!" they all sang together, clapping their hands to the rhythm of the song.

The whole family was enjoying the party and the sound of cutlery clattering on the plates accompanied the lively conversations. 

“So, Nanami. What did you plan for your future?” Her grandfather asked her, as he served himself a second slice of cake.

“I don’t know Grandpa! I didn’t even think about it to be honest.” She confessed. 

Nanami was one of those who often rushed things at the last minute.

“Nobuo! Stop eating too much cake! Your belly is already big enough like that!” Masuko scolded her voracious husband.

“It’s only the second slice! I can’t only drink tea like you. It’s not, well, my cup of tea!” He laughed at his own joke.

“You’re not funny Grandpa!” Manami told him, despite clearly giggling.

They continued to talk and laugh for a while before Akemi stood up to begin clearing the table.

"Time to go to bed, everyone!" she said. "Don't forget to brush your teeth!" she added, looking pointedly at her three children.

The party ended and Nanami went to bed after wishing everyone a good night – and brushing her teeth of course. Her bedroom was small, with just a single bed, a desk, a mirror and a wardrobe in it. She laid down on her bed, thinking back to her grandfather’s question. 

She had just finished mandatory school a few weeks ago and was thinking of helping at the shop during the vacation. Her brother had been attending the Royal Fire Academy to study civil engineering for the past three years and would be entering his fourth and final year in about a month. Meanwhile, her sister had chosen not to continue her education and was working at the shop. Nanami hadn’t decided yet whether she would continue her studies or not.

The Royal Fire Academy offered two main courses: a civil course or a military course. The civil course included civil engineering, civil marketing, teaching and civil politics, while the military course offered a path to become part of the Fire Nation Military.

Becoming a military officer, an engineer or a military political figure, if you rose through the ranks, were some of the possibilities from the military course. The deadline for enrollment was in two weeks. 

I have two weeks left to think about it. I don’t want to work all my life at the tea shop, but I don’t know what I really want to do either.  

She sighed, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. 

Shuu wants to be an engineer, it has been his dream since he was young. But that’s not the case for me. I want more action, like being on the front lines or something.  

She rolled on the side, not being able to sleep, her mind was preoccupied with too many thoughts at once. 

I’m not sure Mom and the others would approve if I were to choose the military route, and I’m not even a firebender… There are non-benders in the Army though, but that’s not what I want either… I don’t know what I want, but I do know what I don’t want – what the hell? 

She then snickered at herself for being so indecisive.

As she was lost in her thoughts, a migraine cropped up and she started to feel a strange heat inside of her. She could feel her heart beating hard, the rhythm thumping loud and frantic in her ears. She sat up, trying to calm herself, but it was like electricity was running through her body. 

She sat on the edge of her bed for a long time, head in her hands, trying to catch her breath. Then, she lifted her head and saw her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall above the desk. She slowly walked closer to the mirror to make sure what she was seeing was real. Her golden eyes were shining brightly in the dark room, two points of light in the darkness.

What is this? What's happening to me?  

She shook her head, trying to get what could only be a hallucination out of her mind, backing away from the mirror. As she panicked, she felt her body temperature continue to rise. Her skin was glowing golden, like a flame, and both of her hands were suddenly enveloped by a thin layer of fire. Horrified, she shook them, but it only made the flames grow bigger.

I'm not a firebender, so how is there fire coming from my hands, and not burning me?  

She was too confused to understand the situation. Her mind couldn't keep up with what was happening to her and she didn’t even think of calling her family for help.

What do I do? How do I stop this?  

Not knowing what to do, Nanami just went around in circles in her bedroom, raising her hands in the air and trying to think about a solution to stop all of this. However, the phenomenon didn’t seem to weaken and the fire continued to spread, reaching her forearms and soon covering both of her arms.

The sensation was strange and indescribable. She was feeling hot inside but the parts that were covered by fire weren’t but instead, it gave her a nice warm feeling on her arms. Her head ached terribly, as if it could explode at any time and fire soon enveloped her whole body. 

Her head was spinning and her consciousness was slowly leaving her. She felt herself weakening and her limbs could no longer bear her weight. Nanami tottered across her room completely exhausted and her mind, emptied of all thoughts. Too weak, the little girl eventually passed out and fell into her bed, remaining unconscious…

Chapter Text

Nanami suddenly opened her eyes suddenly, gasping heavily. She closed them to help relax, taking deep, slow breaths and sat cross-legged on her bed after opening her eyes again. She turned her head towards the mirror. Her golden eyes were not shining, nor her body. 

Was it a dream after all? But it felt so real! she thought, still confused by what might have happened last night.

She got out of her bed and walked to open the curtains. The sun had just risen over the horizon and its rays filled her room with sunlight. She then headed out of her bedroom and went downstairs. The stairs led directly into the kitchen, where her parents were already preparing for the day. She greeted them and walked into the shop customers' area where her siblings were already eating breakfast.

"Morning Nanami! What's with the troubled face?" her sister asked upon her arrival. 

"I had a strange dream," she answered while taking a seat across from her sister. "But I’m not sure if it was a dream," she added.

 She took a sweet bun and started eating.

"That's rare coming from you! What did you dream about?" her brother, who was sitting next to her, asked.

She told them what happened. Shuu and Manami listened to their younger sister, looking surprised and perplexed at her story.

"Your hands were on fire? Like in firebending?" Manami asked while frowning with incomprehension.

"Your hands don't go on fire when you're firebending. You're supposed to make fire with them," Shuu said with his mouth full. "But, hey, it would suit you! To be a firebender! You're pretty hot-blooded after all!"

"Grandma is hot-blooded too but she's not a firebender!" Nanami replied and the three of them laughed together.

"Are you badmouthing me, kids?" her grandma asked, standing behind Nanami.

"Oops, Grandma Masuko! Nope, we were talking about the dream I had last night," Nanami said awkwardly. 

She told her grandmother about her strange night. Masuko carefully listened to the little girl's story and then smiled when Nanami stopped talking. 

"What would you do if you were truly a firebender, Nanami?" she asked with a serious tone, looking into her granddaughter's golden eyes.

"If I was a real firebender?" she repeated thoughtfully. "Hmm… I'd want to be a military officer, maybe? To fight for the Fire Nation citizens! And I'd want to explore the world too! On a ship! 'Cause the Fire Nation has got a big fleet!"

"Is that so? A military officer huh?" her grandmother said in a mysterious tone, walking away. 

The three kids looked at her going to the back of the shop, puzzled by her reply.

"So, will you enroll in the Royal Fire Academy then? If you wish to be a military officer," Manami asked her little sister, resuming the conversation from earlier.

"What? No! I don't really want to be a military officer! It was just a ‘what if’! I'm no firebender!" Nanami answered.

"But if you really want to do something for your nation, the best choice is to attend the academy," Shuu stated. "You'll learn a lot, and you'll be able to do lots of things by the time you graduate. It might not be a bad idea to consider it." 

They continued to encourage their sister to enroll in the academy, giving her more reasons to do it. However, Nanami was still hesitant and troubled by the choice she had to make. 

The three children were still chatting until their mother's voice rose from the kitchen. 

"Hey kids! It's nearly time to open the shop! Come and help!" she shouted from the back of the shop. 

"Coming, Mom!" Manami answered. 

They cleared the table and went back to the kitchen. Their father and grandfather had already started to prepare the sweets. Nanami took her apron and went to wash her hands. She was going to help her dad make the sweet dumplings. Shuu and Manami went back upstairs to change into the shop uniform as they would be serving tea to customers.

It was an ordinary day at the shop and the regulars punctually came for their usuals. Jasmine tea and sweet buns were the Red Dragon’s specialties and sold like hotcakes. An endless flow of customers went in and out of the shop all day. 

In the kitchen, Nanami was getting ready to make the dough for the sweet dumplings. She took the required ingredients from one of the two large kitchen cabinets, standing against the wall, and put them on the long worktop — which stretched along the opposite wall . 

Once she had mixed all the ingredients and formed the dough, Nanami let it rest and began to prepare the filling. She made small balls of red beans filling and placed them on a plate. When she finished, she took the dough and rolled it, making a thin layer of dough. 

She then cut small circles in it, using a pastry ring, and stacked the dough sheets on top of each other, sprinkling flour between each layer. As she was folding the dough sheet around the filling, her father put the finished ones in the steaming pot.

"I have no more fire-making stones! I can't bake the sweet buns," her grandfather suddenly said. "I have to go buy some. Nanami, my dear child, I still have some buns baking in the ovens. Could you watch over them please?"

"Okay Grandpa Nobuo! Be safe on your trip!" Nanami replied, walking towards the back of the kitchen, where the two ovens were located. The fire in the oven was already dead. 

It really needs some flint stones . 

Nanami looked at the charcoal and thought about last night's dream. She took slow deep breaths and thought, Make some fire! Make some fire!  

Nothing happened. 

As if anything could happen! she thought while laughing at herself and shaking her hand at this stupid thought. I'm not a fire—  

Without warning, a flame formed from her hand and as she was shaking it, the spark went into the charcoal and rekindled the fire.

"What the...?" she asked, startled, her golden eyes wide open.

"Where did that fire come from?" her father asked, surprised too as he frowned.

"Was it not a dream then? Are you a real firebender Nanami?" her sister, rushing to her, asked eagerly.

"Firebender? What do you mean? We have no firebenders in our family," her mother said as she walked over, confused by the turn of events.

"Seems like we have one now though," her grandmother, who had come to get a teapot, added before returning to the customers.

Nanami was standing still in front of the ovens and looked at her family, shrugging and eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

Shortly after, her grandfather came back, carrying a small bag of black stones in his hands. He saw the fire and thought that they had found more fire-making stones, but Manami set him straight, telling him what had really happened. 

She didn’t spend long filling him in, instead turning to her little sister, asking about her new power. Nobuo and Manami were extremely excited and asked the little girl to show them her firebending.

"I don't know how to do it! I just shook my hand like this, and it came out by itself," Nanami said while shaking her hand again and another flame suddenly came out of her fist, making the fire in the oven bigger.

"You're the real deal, my dear!" her grandfather commented, amazed by what he had just seen.

"Wow! That was super cool! You're a real firebender, little sister!" Manami happily exclaimed.

"Okay everyone, break time's over! We got a shop to take care of! Get back to work!" her grandmother commanded unfazed as she returned to the kitchen.

Nanami went back to her place staring at her hands. It was real, it was not a dream! I'm a firebender! Then she started to make her sweet dumplings again. 

After that incident, the rest of the day went on as usual and they continued to serve their customers until sunset. At closing time, the family reunited in the customers' area of the shop and talked about Nanami’s newly discovered firebending.

"What are you going to do then? Are you going to attend the academy to become a military officer?" her brother asked. 

"What? A military officer? Since when did you want to become a military officer?" her mother asked, worried and confused by the conversation.

"It was a ‘what if’ question, I just came up with a random answer," Nanami replied. "But I don't know what I should do… I can't even control my element yet," she sighed, looking down.

"You still have time to think about it, sweetie. You don't have to come up with an answer right now. Whatever you decide, we will support your choice," her father told her gently, hugging her.

Her mother walked towards her and knelt down before her daughter. She put one hand on Nanami's cheek. 

"I was a little surprised when I heard you wanted to be a military officer, but if that's really what you want to do, then of course I'm going to support you, my love."

"Thank you, Mom. I love you all," Nanami said while hugging her family as they were surrounding her.

"Go to bed Nanami, don't overthink it, just sleep on it," her grandfather concluded.

"Yeah, you're right Grandpa Nobuo. Goodnight everyone!" She wished them and they all went to sleep. 

The next morning, Nanami peacefully opened her eyes, as the sun rays reached her sleeping face. She slowly got up and opened her curtains then the window to breathe the fresh morning air. 

The sun was rising and the streets were starting to get busy. The street noise made something like a melody that announced a change, which made her smile. 

I've decided! I'm going to attend the Royal Fire Academy and learn firebending!

Chapter Text

Nanami and Shuu left the house just after breakfast. The shopping district was the biggest district in the capital. It gathered all restaurants, tea shops, tailors and grocery stores in one place. 

As the Red Dragon was one of the first shops to be established in this district, Nanami’s family was pretty well-known in their neighborhood. While they were walking along the main street to reach the end of the shopping district, other artisans greeted them and some chatted with the two siblings. 

To get to the Royal Fire Academy, they had to pass the Fire Sages Capital Temple first, and then the Coronation Plaza. It was a forty minute walk from their house. 

Nanami had never left the shopping district and as it was the first time she saw those two places, she stopped at each spot to look around properly. Shuu smiled when he saw the amazed look in his little sister’s eyes.

The two siblings happily talked on their way to the academy. Nanami told her brother that she was really excited about attending the famous Royal Fire Academy. 

“I still don’t know what I want to do in the future, but I still have time to think about it, since the first year is the same for all the courses.

The Royal Fire Academy was created a long time ago. It used to be an institution exclusively for kids from the Fire Nation nobility. However, Fire Lord Zuko changed the education of his nation under his reign. He favored open-minded culture over nationalism and allowed kids from all over the nation to attend the prestigious academy. 

The massive institute was located in the center of the town, near the Royal Palace, and could accommodate up to five-thousand people. The Royal Fire Academy has about four-thousand students a year, coming from all over the nation. 

The architecture was typical of the Fire Nation; white brick walls with red roof tiles and golden moldings were found all over the place. The borders of the academy were defined by high walls that connected at the imposing entrance gate. A water fountain, in the shape of a dragon, was found in the center of the large rectangular courtyard that made a path from the gate to the main building. 

The main building was the largest building on campus and displayed the Fire Nation’s flag above its gate. The sides of the courtyard included covered passages that led to the yard behind the main building. 

The inner yard was smaller and in a semicircle shape. It was surrounded by small buildings on the sides, each building having a different symbol on its door. Behind those small buildings was a third backyard that led to a large dormitory, built for students coming from other islands of the Fire Nation. Many benches were placed around the three yards to let the students leisurely converse during their free time.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Nanami was amazed by how big the academy was. The campus looked gigantic. The entrance gate was at least as tall as The Red Dragon. Nanami looked around and saw a lot of students coming to enroll. The main courtyard was crowded; teachers were positioned all over the courtyard to give directions to new students.

Shuu laughed when he saw his little sister looking around excitedly. 

“It’s so great! I can’t believe it! It’s huge! Everything is huge! And there’re so many people here!” she enthusiastically said.

They passed across the fountain to get to the main building. Shuu had been attending this academy for three years now, so he knew the place like the back of his hand. The northern gate of the main building guided students to a hall which led to many different places depending on the path taken. 

Shuu went straight through the large door in front of him. That was the Common Hall. A row of teachers were sitting at a long table to register each student who showed up. Nanami and Shuu stood in line and waited for their turn.

“Next!” an elderly teacher called. 

Nanami and her brother walked over to him. 

“Name, year, firebender or not,” he said, not even looking at them.

“Nanami, first year and firebender, sir,” Nanami politely answered.

“Are you really a firebender? I can’t sense any firebending spirit coming from you,” he commented, squinting doubtfully and finally looking up at the young girl.

“Yes sir, I am indeed a firebender,” Nanami replied, surprised by his question. She started to doubt. 

Was I not a firebender after all? But why was my whole body covered by fire then? 

Nanami was feeling upset. She was so sure she was a firebender, and now it turned out she was not. Her face scowled as disappointment and frustration took hold of her.

“Guess your power is too weak, I can barely sense it,” he simply said. “Here’s your registration paper. Bring it on the first day.” He handed her the paper. “Next!”

Nanami snatched the paper from him, and walked away with her brother, mumbling swear words at the old man.

“Don’t mind what he just said! I heard that he’s the most annoying teacher in the whole academy! I’m sure you’re strong!” Shuu comforted her.

“Thanks, Shuu, you’re truly a great older brother,” she said. “What an unpleasant old man!” 

She rolled her eyes in annoyance and then looked at the paper he gave her. Two numbers were written on it: 4 and 10. 

“What are those numbers for?”

“The first number is your group. You will be divided into groups in first year because there are too many of you. But I don’t know about the second number, I only had one number on my paper. It’s probably related to firebending. Maybe that will be your group for firebending lessons,” he explained. 

They went back to the main courtyard, passed the water fountain and stopped at the entrance gate. Nanami looked back at the main building. 

I’m going to be studying here from now on! I’ll show that pesky old teacher what I am capable of! 

“Let’s hurry back, they probably need us at the shop!” her brother said and started to run. 

Nanami turned around, surprised not to see her brother, and began chasing him. The entrance was still crowded, so she could not see well in front of her and in a hurry, she bumped into someone.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t being careful! Sorry again!” she said before trying to catch up to her brother. “Shuu! Wait for me!”

“Are you alright?” an old man asked the boy that Nanami had just bumped into.

“I’m fine, Grandfather. Thank you,” the boy answered.

“Good! Let’s get going, Prince Iroh!” Fire Lord Zuko said.

Chapter Text

Vacation was at its end. Starting today, all Fire Nation students went back to school. Nanami woke up earlier than usual, excited about her first day at the Royal Fire Academy. She quickly jumped out of her bed and went directly downstairs to eat breakfast with her grandparents and her sister.

The three of them were already eating and looked at the youngest when she sat down with them. Nanami looked really enthusiastic but they could feel her nervosity when she was speaking, so they reassured her with comforting and encouraging words. 

Her grandfather Nobuo wouldn’t stop refilling her plate with sweet buns to let her stock energy for the day he said, which made his wife scold him. Nanami watched her grandparents arguing – more like her Grandpa getting reprimanded actually – and smiled, feeling more relaxed, seeing her family’s normal attitude.

Back in her own room, Nanami changed her clothes, putting on the academy girls’ uniform and quickly grabbed her bag. 

When she came down, everyone was waiting for her in the customers’ area. Nanami hugged her family members, one by one while they all gave her words of encouragement for her first day and complimented her on how good and cute she looked in her brand new uniform.

The fire brick color garments enhanced Nanami’s fair skin while the golden touches reminded the color of her eyes and the belt defined her slim waist.

“Ready to go?” Shuu asked.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Nanami replied, walking out of the house and heading towards the academy.

The entrance gate was more crowded than the other day. Most of the new students came accompanied by a family member.  Nanami looked around her. Everybody was wearing the same uniform as her. 

She did not know anyone and hoped that she would be able to quickly make friends today. They headed towards the Common Hall where all first-years were supposed to gather. Shuu accompanied his sister to the northern gate of the main building.

“All first-years have to gather in the Common Hall. I’ll be going now. If you need any help, come and find me. I’ll probably be on the second floor of the main building all day. You’ll have to go home alone at noon, since you only have the morning assembly. Good luck little sister!” he told his sister and hugged her before leaving.

“Thanks, Shuu! See you later!” Nanami replied and went to the Common Hall. 

The room was full of first-years students and teachers. Ten long wooden tables were lined up in the hall and some students were already seated. At the back, there was a platform, extended perpendicularly to the student tables and across the full width of the wall. 

On the platform, a long table for the teachers was laid out, as well as a lectern in the front. Large Fire Nation flags were hung on each wall of the room. The one on the back wall, behind the teachers, was the largest flag. Nanami scanned the room with her eyes and spotted two young girls happily chatting on one of the tables. 

Okay, Nanami. Go make friends! 

She took deep breaths to calm down and walked towards the two girls and stood across them. 

“Hello!” she shyly greeted.

“Hi!” one of the girls answered, smiling widely. “I’m Miya! And this is Saki! Nice to meet you!”

“I’m Nanami! Nice to meet you too!” Nanami said, relieved that they sounded friendly and sat in front of them.

Miya was a slightly tanned girl, as she came from Ember Island and was really talkative. She came from a fishing family and has a little brother back home. She was staying at the dormitories of the academy. 

Saki, on the other hand, came from Capital Island like Nanami. She was the only daughter of a high-ranked magistrate, and thus, lived in the chic neighborhood, near the Royal Palace. She was not as talkative as Miya, but just as friendly as her. The three young girls kept joyfully talking until the Headmaster stood in front of the lectern.

“Thank you all for choosing to attend the Royal Fire Academy!” he began his speech. “We teachers are all pleased to welcome you to our prestigious school. We will make sure to guide you through the next four years and shape you into the people you wish to become,” he gravely said. “Honor and respect are our academy’s watchwords. Always remember them in your daily lives. Patience and discipline will be your guides on the way of success,” he added with strength.

The Headmaster Kaito’s face looked severe and his voice was deep. He was an excellent speaker. He used to be a colonel in the Fire Nation Army; that was why he demanded full discipline from his students. 

“Now, each group teacher will come here to call his group of students and you will follow them,” he concluded his speech.

The first teacher came and called the first group of pupils, corresponding to those who had the number one (for the first number) on their paper. The other teachers took turns until no student remained in the Common Hall. 

Luckily, Miya, Saki and Nanami were all in group four. The three girls followed their group teacher. It was the old man that Nanami met on the day of enrolment. 

“My name is Toh, and I will be your group teacher, as well as firebending instructor for some of you.”

Toh was a small old teacher. He had been teaching at this school long before Fire Lord Zuko’s education reform. He knew everything about Fire Nation history and was a strong firebending master. He guided his group around the campus while giving them explanations. 

The main building had four gates: north, south, east and west. The north gate led to the main courtyard, the south gate to the inner yard, the east gate to the library, and the west gate to the infirmary. The first floor (ground floor) held the Common Hall, surrounded by a corridor that connected the four gates. 

Lunch was served in the Common Hall and lunchtime was divided per year. First-years ate first and fourth-years were last. The Common Hall was also a place where students could study or talk, outside of lunchtime. 

On the second floor there were classrooms mainly used by third and fourth years and the teachers’ office was also located on that floor. 

“The third floor is the Headmaster’s office,” he continued. “If you are summoned up there, it means expulsion,” he warned his students, who were now looking terrified. 

They kept on visiting the campus and arrived in the inner yard. 

“The classrooms for first and second years are located in those small buildings around the yard. In the back, you can see the dormitories.. Firebending training will be held either in the main courtyard, or here in the inner yard. Does anyone have any questions?”

“Yes, sir!” Nanami said, lifting her right hand. “What does the second number on the paper mean?”

Toh walked towards Nanami and looked at her.

“You again,” he said. “I did not know you were in my group. The second number is your firebending group level. One means you’re in the strongest group, ten means you’re in the weakest group. Which group are you in, young girl?” he asked sadistically while knowing as he was the one who assigned her the level.

“Group ten, sir,” Nanami sighed while rolling her eyes rebelliously. 

Some students laughed at her.

“Right,” he said. “Any other questions? No? Then let’s go to our classroom. It is in the Red Dragon pavilion, third floor,” he said while pointing to a small building on the left with a red dragon drawn on the door.

The group entered the pavilion and went to the third floor. It was the last floor and there was only one room. The classroom was spacious and low rectangular wooden tables were lined up, with a seat cushion for each. In front of the student tables, was the teacher’s desk and behind it, a large blackboard. 

The students took their places and waited for their teacher to speak. He then explained the academy’s regulations. Group four was an all firebenders group. Firebending practice mixed students from different groups according to their level. Toh spoke for a long time before concluding his speech.

“From now on, you will have all of your classes in this room, except for musical classes and firebending practice. You will all stay together as a group, so I want you to show me a harmonious group. I am expecting great discipline from each and every one of you” he declared, with a severe look in his dark golden eyes. “I’m done for today. You can go home now. I will not tolerate any delay, so be punctual!” he warned before letting them go and the students silently went outside. 

“Do you know him, Nanami?” Miya asked when they reached the inner yard.

“He was the one who took my registration. He totally knew which group I was in! He was the one who put me in group ten!” Nanami furiously said. “ ‘Right’ he said.” 

She mimicked Toh in a silly way, which made her two friends giggle.

“What an annoying old man… And he’s our group teacher too…” Saki sighed.

“Which group are you two in?”

Miya was in group seven for firebending practice and Saki in group two, as she has been training since she began to walk. Nanami was surprised that their firebending powers had appeared at a very young age. She told her friends that hers only appeared two weeks ago.

“Two weeks ago? How can that be? Tell us more!” Saki enthusiastically said.

“Then, let’s go to my house! We’ll talk while eating, ‘cause I’m kinda hungry now!” Nanami laughed. 

“Yeah, let’s go!” the other two girls also laughed.

The three of them went back to the Red Dragon, and happily talked throughout the afternoon. During dinner, Nanami told her family about her first day and Professor Toh. They chattered for a while before going to sleep.

Back in her room, Nanami thought back to her first day at the Royal Academy. She found two friends, who she got along pretty well with. She also thought about Toh. He was really the most annoying teacher of the school! 

I will show him that I’m not weak!

Chapter Text

Nanami had been attending the Royal Fire Academy for three weeks now and everything had been going without a hitch. She had settled in nicely and had been enjoying school life with Miya and Saki. The three girls became inseparables, hardly ever seen apart. 

They also befriended Hiroki, a bespectacled boy their age, after a lot of reluctance on his part in the beginning (he was rather unfriendly - and still was sometimes). Hiroki came from a four-person household. His parents ran a grocery shop in the shopping district, and he had an older brother who did not attend the academy.

Nanami always arrived early to the classroom as advised by Professor Toh. It also gave her more time to chat with her friends. The four students were sitting close to each other: Nanami sat in the last row, near the window and behind Saki, while Hiroki was on her right, behind Miya. They were still talking when Toh walked in. Every student stood when he showed up and greeted him in chorus.

“Good morning to you all. I’m glad you understood what I told you; we haven’t had any latecomers during the first three weeks. So, we are going to study Fire Nation history this morning, and then you will have firebending lessons in the afternoon.”

Nanami tried to concentrate during the lesson but couldn't help looking out the window. The window overlooked the street, and she could see the Royal Palace from her seat.

“It seems my lesson is not interesting enough to get your attention, young girl,” Toh remarked, as he passed between the rows. 

Nanami looked up at him, embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed, as everyone looked at her. 

“I’m sorry, sir,” she mumbled.

“You will stay behind at the end of the lesson,” he said, walking away.

Nanami looked down at her little desk to hide her embarrassment. It hadn’t been too long and she had already been chastised and summoned by her teacher. This thought kept playing in her mind and made her so nervous she could not focus on the rest of the lesson, knowing she was going to be lectured at the end. 

The class finally ended and the students went to the Common Hall for lunchtime. Miya, Saki and Hiroki went ahead to wait for their friend in the inner yard. 

Nanami looked around her. Everybody had already left. Only the teacher was still there, sitting at his desk. She walked over and stood before him. Only the table separated them. 

Nanami stood straight, arms held stiffly at her side from nerves. Toh looked at her.

“Do you know why you are here?” he asked with a slow and deep voice.

“Because I was not paying attention to the lesson,” Nanami answered softly.

“Because you lack discipline!” he corrected loudly. “You will not achieve anything if you don’t fix that attitude of yours. I’ve met hundreds of arrogant and impertinent students like you and I taught them what it meant to be respectful and disciplined. They never dared to retort after that. If you do not wish to suffer the same fate as them, I would advise you to correct your behavior on your own,” he warned her.

“I’m sorry for not paying attention to the lesson, but I was neither arrogant nor impertinent,” she argued, looking straight into his bronze colored eyes. “But I know that I lack discipline, I will work on that,” she conceded.

Toh looked back at her severely. He knew she wouldn’t accept his comment easily. “What will we do with students like you who don't listen to their teachers?” he sighed. “You youngsters always think you’re right when you’re wrong. You won’t be able to improve like that.” 

He finally lost his patience. 

“That is exactly why you’re in the weakest group in firebending! Your spirit is weak, and so is your power!”

Nanami felt anger take hold. The teacher didn’t like her and he was taking it out on her unfairly. Blood rushed to her head and she was on the verge of letting her annoyance take over. Her eyebrows drew into a frown and her fists clenched. Her irritation was starting to show. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself before she crossed a line.

Toh sensed a change in her attitude. She seemed really upset and her eyes were shining brightly, like contained flames. Her aura seemed completely different from the first time he had met her. It was stronger, much stronger. He felt uneasy, and a chill ran down his spine. 

“You can go now,” he said, returning his gaze to the book open on his desk.

Nanami bowed and quickly headed out to join her friends waiting in the inner yard.

“What is with this girl?” Toh asked himself when he was alone in the classroom. “Something feels wrong.” 

Miya, Saki and Hiroki were waiting on a bench in the inner yard. They stood as they saw Nanami walking out of the Red Dragon’s pavilion.

“How was it? Are you still alive?” Miya asked jokingly.

“He pisses me off so much!” she growled. “But, well, it went better than I thought. I didn’t get expelled,” she added, feeling relieved. 

The four of them entered the Common Hall. They stood in line to collect a ready-to-eat food tray each and went to sit at one of the tables. They chatted joyfully during the meal, except for Hiroki who was still not happy to be associated with a group of girls.

“I would have preferred you left me alone. I did not come here to make friends,” he grouched, eating his roasted duck noodle soup.

“Oh, come on. What’s wrong with making friends at school? Isn’t it normal? We’re going to spend the next four years together,” Nanami answered, tucking into the same dish. “Plus, we’re in the same firebending group, so what’s the harm?”

The four kids finished their lunch and went to the main courtyard, where older students were waiting for their turn to have lunch. The three girls kept asking Hiroki questions to get him to warm up to them, but the latter only replied in monosyllables.

“We should get going. We’re about to have our very first firebending lesson at the Royal Fire Academy!” Nanami enthusiastically declared, standing up and facing the main building.

Saki was the only one staying in the main courtyard, as her group would be having lessons there. The other three walked back to the northern gate to cross the Common Hall and go to the inner yard. 

In the inner yard, five rows of students had already formed. They represented group six to group ten. Miya joined the second row, while Hiroki and Nanami joined the last row. Shortly after, the five firebending teachers came and each teacher took his group to their assigned training place in the yard. 

Group ten was the smallest group of all. There were about twelve students in this group. Apart from Nanami and Hiroki, the other ten students looked down at their shoes anxiously. Toh had made them all stand in a row so he could examine each of them in turn.

“Listen to me, children. You are the bottom group of the entire academy! None of you have ever exhibited any natural affinity for firebending. But a fact remains: you are true firebenders, despite being weak. We are going to spend this year together. I will teach you everything I know. I expect discipline and hard work from you all,” he declared, in one of his usual long speeches, striding up and down the row.

They started with warm ups to stretch their bodies. Then, Toh showed them moves that they had to imitate. They had to punch the air without stopping while trying to blow fire from their fists. They also practiced bending fire with their feet while jumping.

He watched each of his students and told them, one by one, their flaws until they reproduced the move perfectly. Although the young firebenders didn’t lack spirit, they clearly lacked talent. The simple moves Toh taught them were difficult enough for them to reproduce.

“You cannot even perform the most basic of moves and you dare call yourself firebenders? I want fire to come out from your weak and tiny fists!” Toh yelled at them. 

After two hours of training, he gave them a fifteen minute break. Nanami and Hiroki collapsed on the ground. They were exhausted, physically as well as mentally. Toh did not stop yelling at them to correct their wrong positions, and the other ten students were in no better shape, most of them faring much worse.

“Don’t be exhausted after only two hours of training! You have to build stamina! Breaktime is over now! Take one bucket of charcoal and put it in front of you!” he commanded. 

The students each took a bucket and did as their teacher said. 

“Now, set the charcoal on fire using the move we just practiced,” he instructed, performing a demonstration. 

He took a stance, turned on himself, pivoting on his right foot, and jumped. Landing on his left foot, he threw his fist forward and fire blasted out, blazing the coals.

The twelve students moved, their bodies making sharp movements, but nothing came out of their fists, which earned them Toh’s scolding.

After many failed attempts, the young firebenders finally managed to set fire to the coal, but their flames were clearly smaller than Toh’s.

“It was about time you succeeded! Now, go get a bucket of water to put out the fire. We are doing it again until you get bigger flames!” he shouted.

Nanami dragged her feet to get the bucket of water. She felt like Toh was the only teacher who was shouting non-stop in the yard. It was exhausting just listening to his yelling voice. 

How can he shout all day like that? she thought, as she was tiredly bringing the water bucket back to her place.

She poured the water on the fire just like the other students. However, the fire in the other eleven buckets was immediately put out in contact with water, not hers. The flame still danced on the coals. 

When he saw that Nanami still hadn’t put out her fire yet, Toh approached her.

“You again! Put out your fire immediately and start the exercise again!” he commanded angrily.

“But the fire won’t stop, sir!” she said, panicking.

She ran to get another bucket of water, ignoring her exhaustion from earlier, and poured it again on the fire, but the flame still did not die. Water could not extinguish her fire. 

The other students and Toh were baffled. No one could process what was happening in front of them. Nanami looked at her teacher, her golden eyes seeking help. 

Toh did not know what to do either. He just looked at the flame still stubbornly flickering, even though the young girl already poured two full buckets of water on it. 

As time passed by, the flame grew smaller and eventually died. Everyone looked at Nanami, who was also confused.

“What did you do?” Toh asked her.

“I… I don’t know! I did what you told us to do!” she explained, stammering her words.

It was the first time in his life that Toh felt powerless. He was so confused by the situation that he couldn’t think straight anymore. He had never seen that in all his teaching years, or even during his whole life.

“We’re stopping for today. You can go home,” he said dumbfoundedly and walked away, his hand stroking his chin.

The twelve students put the buckets away and started towards home. They were all looking strangely at Nanami, except for Hiroki. He stayed with her as she walked towards a bench. He sat next to her and remained silent for a while. Nanami looked down at her feet, not saying a word even though she was usually talkative. Hiroki broke the silence.

“I think that was amazing. I’ve never seen a fire that could not be put out,” he tried to comfort her. 

Nanami looked at him, then smiled. “Thanks, Hiroki. I knew you were a good guy,” she said.

They had been talking for a while when Miya, whose lesson had just ended, came to join them. They met up with Saki in the main courtyard where she was already waiting on a bench. Hiroki told them what happened during their lesson, and the four of them chatted a little more before going home. 

“Time to go, little princess,” a voice called out to her, and she turned to see her brother standing by one of the covered passages.

“So, how was your first firebending lesson?” he asked her excitedly.

Nanami looked at him and sighed in return, surprising Shuu. But he smiled, and hugged his little sister as they walked back home.

Chapter Text

The next day, when Nanami entered her classroom, all eyes were on her. The rumors of yesterday's incident had already spread like wildfire. Mocking laughter arose throughout the class, some students pointing at her and sneering. Ignoring them, she quietly returned to her place.

"People are so stupid, right? That's why I don't like to associate myself with others," Hiroki commented, without taking his eyes off his book.

She sat down and chatted with Miya and Saki until Toh walked in. 

Today's lesson was about the United Republic of Nations. Toh taught them how Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang had united all former Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom to create a new republic where benders and non-benders could live together in peace. 

He also talked about the United Republic's Military, The United Forces, which included troops who came from three of the four major nations — Air Nomads being pacifists, weren’t a part of any army. Waterbenders, earthbenders and firebenders, as well as non-benders, made up the troops who protected the new republic.

This time, Nanami made sure to pay attention to the lesson. However, at the end of morning, when all students were heading out to eat, Toh called her. He told her to wait in the main building's hall after lunch, near the stairs which led to upper floors. The Headmaster wanted to see her.

"What did I do now? I've followed the whole lesson today!" Nanami complained to her friends as they were walking towards the Common Hall to have lunch. 

She didn't understand why she had been summoned by the Headmaster. 

"I hope I won't get expelled! Toh said that meeting with the Headmaster meant expulsion." She recalled Toh's words on the first day.

"Do you think it's about what happened yesterday?" Saki asked her.

"Well, probably. Toh must have told him. Ah… I'm so nervous now!" Nanami sighed.

After lunch, they sat down on one of the benches near the stairs in the hallway and talked about trivial things so as not to put more pressure on Nanami, who was already anxious enough.

Toh suddenly appeared before them, ending their conversation. "Follow me," he told Nanami, and headed upstairs. The other three watched their friend, wishing her luck with their eyes. They walked off in silence towards the main courtyard. 

Nanami went up with Toh. The Headmaster's office was on the last floor and it was the only room on the whole floor. Arriving at the end of the last staircase, Nanami looked around. There was a rest area with two sofas, one in front the other, and a low table in the middle of them. A little further was a single door that led to the Headmaster's office. 

She was feeling more and more nervous, her hands sweating from the stress, and she gulped when Toh knocked at the door while announcing their arrival. A voice answered and he opened the door, gesturing for Nanami to enter first. The young girl did as she was told and walked in. 

It was a spacious room with shelves filled with books lining the walls. On the two opposite walls, two Fire Nation flags were hung. The Headmaster's desk was in the middle of the room. It was a neat desk, with some paperwork accurately placed in a corner of the table. Toh entered too and closed the door behind him. The Headmaster was sitting at his desk, waiting for them.

"Miss Nanami, I suppose," he said with his deep voice.

"Yes, sir," Nanami answered politely, impressed by his dominating presence. His voice was powerful and filled the room, commanding attention. As soon as they entered, Toh bowed his head to him and stayed silent, standing straight, unlike his usual loud self.

He must be very scary for Toh to behave like this.

The Headmaster Kaito was a tall middle-aged man, with a longish brown beard. He wore round glasses with golden rims, behind which sat piercing golden eyes that seemed to see right through her. His stare gave her goosebumps, not caused by fear but by apprehension, making it hard for her to hold her gaze.

"Professor Toh told me what happened yesterday, during the firebending lesson. Your fire did not die, despite pouring water on it," he continued, looking straight in the young girl's eyes.

Nanami could feel the intimidation in his gaze, and she did not move an inch. She put her hands behind her back and waited for Headmaster Kaito to continue. He asked her a few questions and Nanami started to tell her story. When she finished talking, Kaito remained silent for a little while, before speaking again.

"Your firebending seems unique. It is a special power but we still do not know what you might be capable of. It can be either a gift, or a curse. That’s why we think you should refrain from practicing firebending so as not to cause any unwanted accidents," he explained his decision.

Nanami's face broke down. She was not allowed to firebend anymore. Even though that was the main reason she joined the academy. She was not being expelled from school, but it was as if she was. She looked at the Headmaster imploringly, her eyes wide and wet, all of her face showing that she didn't like the idea of not training.

"We are not totally forbidding you from firebending," he continued as he saw the saddened face of the young student. "You will be learning martial arts with non-benders instead, while Professor Toh and I will be looking for more information on your power. So, for the time being, you will join the non-benders," he concluded his speech.

"Yes, sir," Nanami said respectfully as she bowed her head to Kaito, but deep inside, she felt frustrated.

"You can go now. You will be attending the non-benders martial arts training this afternoon. They are practicing in the small yard in front of the dorms. Don't be late," Kaito said as a dismissal.

Nanami went down and rejoined her friends, waiting for her on a bench in the main courtyard. She walked to them, a gloomy look on her face, making them understand that the meeting didn’t go well.

“I’m not allowed to attend the firebending lessons anymore. I will practice martial arts instead,” she explained, not even looking at them, letting disappointment take a hold of her.

Miya, Saki and Hiroki remained silent at first, and then comforted the saddened little firebender with reassuring words and warm hugs. When it was time for afternoon lessons, the four of them parted ways and went to their respective lessons.

Nanami walked part of the way with Miya and Hiroki who stopped in the inner yard, while she continued to the back yard, located in front of the dorms.

“You must be Nanami! Headmaster Kaito told me that you would be joining us from now on! Welcome!” A young and slender woman nicely welcomed her. “I am Professor Rin and I will be your martial arts’ instructor starting today! Get in line and we’ll begin today’s lesson.”

Nanami joined the last rank and followed her new teacher’s instructions. Firebending moves were not that different from martial arts, apart from the fact that you could blast fire from your fists and feet.

Professor Rin was a really nice martial arts’ master. She took her time to correct her disciples’ mistakes,  not yelling at them.

Nanami actually turned out to be pretty good in martial arts. Her body was flexible, allowing her to hold any of the stances Rin showed them. Everytime she was doing position incorrectly , Rin would come and gently explain to her what she had done wrong.

“That’s it for today, everyone! Good work! See you at the next lesson!” Rin concluded her training.

Nanami walked back to the inner yard, picking up Miya and Hiroki, and the three of them headed to the main courtyard to rejoin Saki, who was waiting for them at the fountain.

“So, how was martial arts practice?” Miya asked Nanami.

“It was great! The teacher’s so nice, unlike that grumpy Toh! And the other students are cool too,” she answered.

“Let’s go home then,” Saki said, ready to walk to the entrance gate.

“I forgot my book in the classroom!” Nanami suddenly exclaimed, facepalming. “Go ahead, I’ll go back with my brother later. See you tomorrow!”

Hiroki and Saki went back together, while Miya and Nanami headed towards the inner yard. 

Miya went to the dorms to put down her bag in her room, and Nanami went to get her book from the classroom. When she tried to open the Red Dragon pavilion’s door, it suddenly swung towards her and knocked her to the floor.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know there was somebody on the other side!” a black-haired boy frantically apologised, kneeling to help the young girl. He accompanied her to the closest bench and made her sit. 

Nanami’s forehead was hurting. She was keeping her eyes closed against the pain.

I probably have a big bump . 

The boy, probably a first year too, was kneeling in front of her. When she opened her eyes, Nanami found herself face to face with him and immediately blushed, seeing how cute he was. 

She quickly pulled her head back, so quickly that she rocketed and fell backwards. The young boy rushed to help her and lifted her to lay her down on the bench.

Nanami stayed still for a few minutes, and then tried to sit up. The boy assisted her, putting his arm under hers to hold her and help her to sit straight.

“Thank you,” she said in a low voice.

“Oh! You were trying to enter the pavilion. Did you forget something?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot my book in the classroom. I have to go and get it,” she said and tried to stand.

“I’ll go get it for you. Please stay here. Which floor is your classroom?” the young boy inquired, putting his hands on her shoulders to make her sit back.

“Thank you. Last floor. Last row. The desk near the window,” she smiled at him.

“I’ll be right back! Don’t move!” he said and left running.

Nanami stayed seated on the bench, rubbing the back of her head. It still hurt a little. Miya still did not come back from her dorm.  

Where is Miya?

The young boy finally came back a few minutes after. 

“Here’s your book. Is it this one?” he asked, handing her the book.

“Yeah! Thank you so much!” she thanked him, taking the book back.

He sat back next to her. 

“Can you go home alone?” he asked.

“It’s okay, I’m waiting for my brother. He said he’d come to pick me up when his class had ended,” Nanami answered. “You can go, I’m fine now, thank you.”

“I’m staying until your brother comes,” he replied with a smile, that made Nanami’s heart rate increase a little.

“Thank you,” Nanami said, blushing. “I’m Nanami. First year. What about you?”

“My name’s Iroh. First year too,” he introduced himself in turn.

“Iroh?” Nanami thought out loud. 

Iroh stiffened. She knew who he was. 

“Are your parents, like, big fans of General Iroh?” she asked, amused.

Iroh was surprised. This girl did not know he was the prince. He smiled. 

“Yeah, I guess,” he chuckled. “People sometimes call me Iroh II.”

“Iroh the Second?” Nanami asked, raising an eyebrow, but got interrupted by a boy.

“Iroh!” he called the prince. “What are you doing? Let’s go home!” he said.

“Oh! No, I’m…” Iroh began to say.

“That’s okay, you can go. My friend’s just there. Thank you!” Nanami replied, pointing at Miya who was talking to someone from her dorm.

“Okay, I’m sorry for earlier! See you later, Nanami!” he said, as he walked to his friend.

“See you later, little Iroh!” Nanami answered. “Because Iroh the Second sounds too stuffy,” she added with a smile.

Iroh smiled back at her and walked away with his friend chattering. 

That’s the first time someone didn’t know who I was, he thought. 

“What a cute smile she had,” he muttered to himself, recalling her charming, blushing face.

Chapter Text

Nanami came back home with a gloomy face and went upstairs as soon as she stepped in her house. Upon entering her room, she threw her bag on the floor, laid down on her stomach, and let out a big sigh.

I can’t believe I’m not allowed to practice firebending anymore…

She had tried to look good in front of her friends and her brother, but now that she was alone in her room, she couldn’t pretend anymore.

What is wrong with me? Why can’t I firebend like everyone else? 

A tear rolled down her round face and the little girl sniffed quietly, as the tear dropped on her bedsheets. She got on her back and stared at the ceiling, feeling frustrated and depressed.

I wasn’t even good at it… Maybe I should just forget about firebending and only train in martial arts.

“Nanami! Get down! We’re eating!” her sister yelled from the bottom of the stairs, breaking her train of thoughts.

Nanami quickly wiped her face with her hand and went down the steps one by one. 

“What’s wrong, sweetie? You don’t look as cheerful as usual. Are you not hungry? You haven’t eaten anything yet,” her father commented, seeing his daughter’s mournful look.

“I’ve been exempted from firebending practice. I will be training in martial arts instead,” Nanami told her family, head down, looking at her plate still full of food.

“What? Why?” Her sister inquired, dropping her chopsticks on the table.

“They said that it was to avoid unwanted accidents and that they’ll look into the matter.”

“That’s okay, my little princess. I’m sure you’ll be allowed to go back to firebending training soon enough. They can’t miss a firebender as talented as you,” her grandfather comforted her and patted her head.

“I have no talent Grandpa… I couldn’t even do the simplest moves…” She replied, looking up at him with teary eyes.

“Nanami, my little child. You are still young and still have a lot of things to learn. You’ll have to be patient to see the results of your training. Don’t just give up because you failed once, work harder to succeed,” Nobuo advised.

Nanami nodded, giving him a smile. She was now feeling a little better and started to eat her dinner.

❀

A few days later, during lunch break, Nanami and her friends were sitting at the fountain in the main courtyard. The four first-year were enjoying their break time, leisurely talking about trivial matters.

A band of students from their group suddenly showed up in front of them, interrupting their discussion.

“Hey, look guys! That’s the loser that has been expelled from firebending lessons,” a boy, who seemed to be their leader, sneered at Nanami, accompanied by his followers’ smirks.

“She was already in the weakest group, and she couldn’t even stay in that lame group,” a girl mocked at her.

“What do you want from me?” Nanami coldly asked, glaring at them furiously.

“Just wanted to see from up close what a real life loser looked like,” the boy arrogantly replied.

“Go away if you don’t need anything,” Nanami said, raising her voice but holding back her anger.

“And then what? Will you chase us away with your weak firebending?” he sneered at her again.

Nanami couldn’t stand hearing their taunts anymore. She stood up, ready to throw her fist in his snobbish face, but a hand prevented her from doing so.

“Don’t do it, Nanami,” Saki said, gripping her friend’s wrist. “He’s not worth it.”

Nanami looked back at Saki, her usually calm face showed obvious irritation. Her brows were knitted together and her eyes were unblinking, telling her that Saki was just as angry as her.

“Saki! Why are you with that bunch of losers? You’re from a wealthy family just like us. Join us instead, we’ll be better friends than them!” He told her, holding out his hand.

“Thank you, but I prefer staying with them,” she replied haughtily. “Also, they’re so much better than all of you.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, surprised by her choice, and answered scornfully, “Do whatever you want. But you’ll regret it later Saki!”

The boy turned his back to them and walked over to his friends. However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and threw a fire punch at the other four. 

Startled by the sudden attack, Saki, Miya, Hiroki and Nanami only had the reflex to protect their face, crossing their arms in front of them.

The fire was luckily not that powerful and didn't reach them, only blowing hot air towards them.

Nanami rushed straight to him, fuming, and threw her fist, aiming at his face. 

The lanky boy barely dodged her punch, taking rapid steps back, but in a panic he stumbled, falling to the ground. The girl, who laughed at Nanami earlier, quickly came to his rescue, while one of their followers took his place in the fight.

The new guy, who was more muscular, seemed stronger than his leader but not as smart. He took a fighting stance, his two fists on guard at his face and after a few seconds, he swiftly moved closer to his opponent and launched a stream of fire at Nanami’s face.

This time, Nanami was too close and the fire directly blew at her face, even though she had time to protect herself with her forearms.

It’s hot! That damn guy didn’t hold back! 

Nanami closed her eyes, as the blow reached her. She felt a warm sensation around her face, like hot air was surrounding her, but she didn’t feel any irritation from a burn.

When she opened her eyes back, all eyes were on her. The little girl didn’t get burned by the fire.

Shocked by his uninjured challenger, the boy threw back many blows to make sure his attack reached her this time, in vain. No matter how many blows he sent her way, none of them had an effect on her.

Seeing that his attacks were ineffective on the young girl, he decided to attack her with brute strength. Getting into a run, he jumped and landed a kick in her stomach, sending her flying several meters away.

Not yet agile enough, Nanami couldn't ward off the attack and flew back and crashed to the ground. Her friends hurried to her side, helping her to stand back up. Her stomach hurt real bad, making her want to throw up, but she held it back.

“Hmph, you’re so weak!” He exclaimed, gasping from all the effort he had made.

Nanami glared at him and wiped the dust he left on her uniform.

“You’re going to pay for that!” She threatened him.

She charged, running to him, and tried to kick him but he was more experienced in fighting and easily dodged the attack. Nanami kept on attacking him from all directions, leaving him no respite.

She only had a few martial arts lessons so she was not good at it yet, but her anger was guiding her in this fight and Nanami could fluidly connect her movements, allowing her to combat on equal footing with the nasty firebender.

Neither of them had the lead in the fight, but the boy was starting to show some sign of exhaustion, while Nanami was still full of energy, letting her rage drive her.

As she began to successfully parry his blows, the boy used firebending again and sent her multiple fireballs from his fists and feet.

Completely immersed in the fight, Nanami let her body move by itself and ended up firebending, violating the headmaster's ban. 

A big flame gushed out from her fist, the very same move she couldn’t perform a few days ago, and shot at her opponent’s face, who was luckily too far for the fire to reach him.

Her fighting spirit took control of her, pushing her limits, and making her unaware of her surrounding and her doings. Nanami created a ring of fire that encircled the young boy, not hearing her friends shouts to stop.  

Other students had gathered in the main courtyard to watch the scene, causing an uproar. The crowd howled and cheered on the two opponents.

Alerted by the cries coming from the courtyard, the professors hastened to see what was happening, stunned to see two students fighting — or more like, to see one student trapped in a ring of fire, while the other was making the ring higher.

Toh spotted Nanami as one of the fighter and ran to her.

“You again! You were forbidden to use firebending! What are you doing?” He scolded harshly her. “Stop right now, and come with me to the Headmaster’s office!”

As she was not answering him, Toh grabbed her shoulder to make her look at him, only to have his hand pushed away.

“Hey! Stop it right no—” He began to say but stopped when he saw her eyes.

Her eyes were shining bright, the irises illuminated in a vibrant golden color; but they were completely unfocused, as if she was unconscious.

Toh shook her, calling her to bring her back to her senses, and after a few seconds the young girl emerged from her unconscious state, staring around her.

All Nanami could see was frightened faces and wide eyes, focused on her. Whispers could also be heard around her, and only one word came out from the crowd’s mouths.

“Monster.”

Chapter Text

Iroh was sitting in the library, flipping through the pages of the book he was reading. He was already done with his classes for the day, so he stopped by to borrow a book before heading back to the Royal Palace. He was so immersed in his reading that he didn’t notice the time pass and ended up staying longer than he had planned. Iroh finally closed the book and left the library, heading towards the inner yard to drop some stuff in his classroom.

At this hour, the inner yard was deserted and everyone else was in class. Iroh walked towards the Red Dragon pavilion, where his classroom was located and spotted someone sitting alone on a bench.

The student was wearing the girls’ uniform, her hair tied up in a traditional Fire Nation topknot. She was curled up on the bench, her legs folded against her and her forehead on her knees. Iroh could hear her sobs from where he was, and the girl would occasionally lift her head to wipe her face with her arm, meaning she was probably crying, but he couldn’t see her face. He walked over to her, thinking he had found who it was.

“Nanami?” He asked softly, fearing his guess was right.

She looked up at the person who was speaking to her. A little boy, with impeccably styled hair, was standing in front of her.

“Iroh,” she whispered, then inelegantly sniffed before quickly wiping her eyes, still wet from crying earlier. “Why are you here?”

“I’m done with classes for today. Were you crying? What happened?” He asked in a gentle and comforting voice, sitting next to her.

“I’m okay,” she started to say. “It’s just… I’ve been suspended from school for a week and I was feeling a little depressed.”

“Oh, no… Was it because of the fight during lunch?”

She looked at him, a little shocked and worried that he saw her going crazy in the middle of the courtyard. Nanami stared at her feet, legs now unfolded and resting on the concrete.

“You saw me…” she mumbled, so quietly that Iroh barely heard her.

Iroh looked at her and could feel her worry about that, she was keeping her head down, not even looking at him. The cheerful face he had seen a few days prior was now completely gone, replaced by a gloomy expression that made him sorry for her. The young Fire Prince didn’t know how to comfort her, thinking that hugging her right now, like he would have done with his little sister, would be a little too much and the thought of it made him slightly blush.

“Do you think I’m a monster?” Nanami finally said, after a long silence. 

She had remembered all the mockery that the other students had thrown at her at the end of the fight. She looked at him, her usually bright golden eyes now dim. Her eyes were watery, with tears ready to fall down at any moment.

“What are you talking about? Of course you’re not a monster! You’re just amazing! You can do things that others cannot!” He answered, looking straight into her eyes.

Iroh tried to put a lot of emotion in his voice to make the little girl’s reassured by his words, wanting her to smile.

“You’re incredible, Nanami!” He added, smiling warmly at her. He raised his hand, wiping the tears off her face with a caress. “Please smile like you always do. A crying face doesn’t suit you.”

Nanami felt Iroh’s soft hand on her skin as he brushed her face tenderly, barely touching it. She closed her eyes, her skin on alert, making her more sensitive to his touch. Her face softened, drawing into her usual cheerful face, and she smiled at him, gazing into his eyes.

“Thanks, Iroh.” 

Her golden eyes were shining again, recovering their usual bright color and captivated the young boy. Unfortunately, as classes had now ended, other students began to come out from the pavilions around them, breaking their time alone.

Miya, Saki and Hiroki walked out of the Red Dragon Pavilion, looking for their friend in the inner yard. They spotted her, sitting on a bench and talking with another student. The boy stood up and walked away towards the main building, forgetting that he had planned to go to his classroom in the first place.

“Are you friends with the prince, Nanami?” Saki asked, as they reached the bench Nanami was sitting on. 

“Prince? Prince of what?” Nanami replied, raising her eyebrow.

Saki was speechless. She looked at the other two, seeking their help, but they looked as clueless as their friend and shrugged at her. The three of them gave her a ‘what are you talking about?’ look.

“Are you all kidding me? That was Fire Prince Iroh! Son of Princess Izumi and grandson of Fire Lord Zuko!” she exclaimed in shock. 

“Really? I totally didn’t know,” Nanami simply replied, completely unfazed by the revelation. “I just thought his parents were some fans of General Iroh. He didn’t tell me he was the prince either.”

“How could you all not know?” Saki sighed and sat down next to her. “Anyway, are you okay? Your eyes are red.”

“I don’t know how to tell my family. I bet they will be furious.” Nanami explained, looking back at her feet.

“Of course they won’t! It wasn’t even your fault!” Miya comforted her. “We all saw what happened! They’re the ones who started the fight!”

“I think it’s stupid to blame yourself for something you haven’t done.” Hiroki stated, with his usual detached voice.

Miya and Saki furiously glared at him.

“What?” He said, raising his eyebrow. “I wanted to comfort her!”

“Is that how you comfort people, Hiroki?” Saki asked him, rolling her eyes at Hiroki’s hopeless attitude. “Don’t worry too much about that, Nanami. One week isn’t that long and we’ll come everyday to see you after classes. Hiroki will be in charge of taking notes for you, so no need to worry, right?” She told Nanami, giving her a reassuring smile and patting her back.

Nanami finally smiled at them and chuckled, seeing Hiroki’s unbelievable face when Saki imposed the task of taking notes for her on him.

“Thanks, guys. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Well, you would probably get into more trouble,” Hiroki added.

The four of them laughed and finally went back home, now that Nanami had recovered her usual cheerful attitude, feeling less depressed.

❀

Nanami stopped in front of the back door of the shop. She took a deep breath and pulled the door, walking determinedly into the kitchen.

Go Nanami!

“Welcome back Nana—,” Nobuo began to say.

“I got into a fight and have been suspended from school for a week!” she declared loudly, interrupting her grandfather.

They all looked at her, eyes wide and stunned by what the youngest just said.

“I didn’t start the fight though,” she added, after feeling all their gazes locked on her. “A bunch of rich kids picked on me, and one of them threw a fire punch at us. I had to do something.”

“Were you hurt?” her mother asked, in a cold tone, glaring at her.

“I got kicked in the stomach, but I’m fine now. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Nanami replied, with an apologetic face.

Akemi sighed. This child had always caused her more trouble than the other two. It was actually not the first time she had gotten into a fight, but being suspended was a first.

“Young girl, how many times have I told you not to fight with other students?” She started scolding Nanami. “It’s dangerous my love. Look, you’ve been kicked in the stomach this time. What would you have done if it was worse than a kick?”

Akemi kneeled down in front of her youngest daughter, looking up at the sorry expression Nanami was wearing.

“Are you sure your stomach doesn’t hurt anymore?”

Nanami shook her head, and her mother let out a relieved sigh this time, closing her eyes. 

“Go wash yourself. I’ll take out an ointment for you to apply on the bruise.” She stood up and added, giving Nanami a reproving look, “No more fighting, young lady!”

Nanami shyly smiled and quickly headed upstairs. She heard her mother shout something about her face not showing any regret and not to do it again because she wouldn’t be as tolerant as she was today for next time, but she couldn’t care less.

Of course I didn’t regret anything! They’re the ones who started it! But it’s actually unfair that I’m the only one suspended. They only had to help around the campus.

Nanami sat on her bed, after her bath, and took the ointment her mother had put on her desk. She pulled up her tee-shirt and applied the pomade on the big bruise in the middle of her stomach. His kick left a large contusion on her skin, but it wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

While she was thinking about what she would do next week, someone knocked at her door. It was her grandmother. Masuko opened the door and came in.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, sitting next to Nanami.

“Fine! It’s not that bad, Grandma.” She began. “But, people called me a monster at the end of the fight… My friends told me not to mind, but it’s still a shock to hear it...” 

Nanami was now looking down, a frown on her face. Masuko put her hands on the little girl’s shoulders, looking serious and solemnly spoke to her.

“Nanami, my dear child. From now on, you will meet a lot of new people: good ones, as well as bad ones. Don’t let others get you down! You are a special child. You have been granted an extraordinary power. We know you are strong. There’s only one thing you need to do: be yourself and follow the path you’ve chosen!”

Nanami carefully listened to each word her grandmother was saying, looking straight into the same golden eyes as hers. Touched by her grandmother’s speech, Nanami hugged her and looked more determined than ever. 

“Thanks, Grandma,” she simply said. “I won’t let you all down.”

Chapter Text

Part 1: The Chi Masters

Nanami had a whole week free. She didn’t really need to help at the shop as she wasn’t there usually and they could handle it fine. On the first day, the little girl enjoyed her break, doing nothing, just watching the customers in the shop and hanging out in the kitchen from time to time. Miya, Saki and Hiroki came over after school to give her several classes notes and chat with their friend.

However, she quickly got bored the next day, not used to lazing around in her room.

I’m not going to stay here all day. Let’s see if I can find a place to do some firebending training!

She went to the kitchen, where the rest of her family was working – except for Shuu who was at school. 

“Can I go to the park to play?” She asked her mother.

Akemi looked at her daughter and raised an eyebrow. She had a bad feeling about this.

“What will you do there?” Her tone was severe, trying to figure out her troublesome child’s real intentions.

“Just play. I’m bored at home,” the little girl replied, grinning innocently at her mother.

“Let her go, darling. Of course she’s going to get bored here at home,” Kouichi chimed in.

“You’re always too soft on her, Kouichi!” Akemi sighed. “No trouble, young miss!” She warned her daughter, raising her forefinger to appear more threatening.

Nanami jumped for joy and immediately dashed outside.

“Why would she wear her uniform?” Masuko wondered, and returned to her work.

Meanwhile, Nanami didn’t go to the park in the shopping district where she usually went, and instead headed to the one near the Fire Sages Temple. That park had more space and she actually saw elderly people practicing something that looked like martial arts every morning as she passed by on her way to the academy.

The young firebender ran to the spot where she had seen those people training and sat on a nearby bench, watching them. She would try some of their moves from time to time, but it was harder than what it seemed, even though the movements were really slow. 

An old woman, with ash color hair tied in a bun, noticed the little girl trying to imitate them and walked over to her.

“What are you doing, young lady?” She asked in a gentle voice, startling Nanami who didn’t see her approach.

“I wanted to perform the moves you were doing, but I can’t seem to do it!” Nanami replied, embarrassed that someone actually saw her.

The woman let out a small chuckle. “Come with us, we’ll teach you.”

Nanami followed her and shyly joined the circle they formed. They were actually practicing martial arts, but not the fighting style. It was the spiritual style, called Tai-chi, and allowed you to control your chi .

“What’s the chi?” Nanami asked them.

“The chi is the energy that unites everything in the world. For example, we are made of chi. It runs through our chakras, inside of us.” An old man explained.

“Is the chi like life then?” Nanami said hesitantly, raising an eyebrow as she didn’t understand anything from what he had just told her.

“Yes! If you can control your chi, then you’ll be able to control your inner energy.”

“Control my inner energy? Does that mean I can control my firebending if I can master the chi?”

“Oh! So you are a firebender, young lady.” Nanami nodded at the old woman’s statement.

Nanami came back everyday to train with the group of chi masters. They were wise and gave her lots of advice on firebending as they were all former firebending masters from Ozai’s army. On her last day of suspension, Nanami succeeded in learning the basics of the art of chi and had been improving on controlling her firebending too.

While they were training in the park, a man appeared and talked to the group of chi masters. Nanami looked at the newcomer. He was tall and wore a sophisticated outfit that looked ridiculous to her because it had so many different patterns on it. His black hair was tied in a topknot that was traditionally done in noble families.

He wanted them to stop coming to this park, giving the pretext that they bothered others with their practice.

That’s ridiculous! The art of chi is made of slow and silent moves. How could we bother anyone? Nanami thought, irritated by this snooty nobleman’s nonsense. And the park is so big that there’s enough space for everyone!

“Anyway, you need to leave this park now. Else, I’ll have to call the army!” He threatened them.

“We’re not leaving, magistrate. You don’t have any right to command us,” Sheih, the old woman who talked to Nanami first, exclaimed.

“You leave me with no choice, Sheih. You might have been an excellent captain in the past, but now you’re just a simple citizen. Get them!” He ordered the soldiers that accompanied him.

The army started to walk over to the outnumbered group but Sheih raised her hand, telling them to stop.

“You know you won’t be able to capture us, magistrate. Don’t waste your time and go back to the Palace.”

The magistrate didn’t even respond to her, and used his firebending to shamelessly throw a flame at the old woman. Sheih was not that young anymore, and while she used to be agile in her youth, she was now a little rusted and her reflexes have dulled. She couldn’t avoid the blow that was coming in her direction, but Nanami threw herself on her to keep her out of the way. 

The two of them rolled a few meters further on the grass. Nanami quickly got up and took a fighting stance.

“That’s low! Attacking innocent people is a crime, mister multi-patterns,” she shouted at him.

“Who’s that little girl? She’s wearing the Royal Fire Academy uniform. Why aren’t you at school, you trespasser?” He shouted back. “Get her too!”

A soldier approached, trying to grab Nanami’s arm but she dodged him and ran to the magistrate’s side. The latter sent a fireball her way, but knowing fire couldn’t burn her, Nanami jumped right through it and kicked the man with both her feet. She bounced off him and landed steadily on the grass, while the magistrate bent over from her kick.

The soldiers were ready to catch the little girl but the man extended his arm to stop them.

“I’ll take care of that arrogant little punk!” He grunted, gritting his teeth.

He raised up and charged at Nanami, throwing fireballs at her, but the young firebender didn’t fear fire and just shot back at him with her own fireballs. Disadvantaged by her small size, Nanami leaned against the tree next to them to jump in the air and attack from a higher point.

The magistrate looked at the little girl, flying over him. Just before she landed another blow on him, his dark golden eyes met hers and a chill ran down his spine. Her eyes shone with a bright golden light, only for a few seconds, and went back to a vibrant amber color. The last thing he saw was a stream of fire she blasted from her small fist, and he fought back with a shot from his foot.

Suddenly, the tree caught on fire and screams rose in the park. Smoke enveloped the tree and ash made everyone cough. They all ran away from the fire and a few minutes later, other soldiers came with large buckets of water to put out the fire. After a little while, the fire was brought under control and completely died from being flooded by water.

The captain of the Royal Army, which acts as law enforcement inside the Fire Nation’s territory, came out to ask what happened.

“This little punk set the tree on fire! She was trying to kill us!” The magistrate immediately exclaimed, exaggerating his talk.

“It was not me! It was you!” Nanami retorted vividly.

The captain was a young man in his early twenties. He looked at both of them and told his officer, “This little girl is wearing her uniform and is not at school right now. Take her, we’ll bring her back to her school.” He then turned to the magistrate and added, in a polite tone but firmly, “Magistrate, please come with us as well. We’ll get your testimony.”

Sheih and the others tried to take Nanami’s side but the captain didn’t budge from his position and took her with him.

Oh, no. I’m going to get scolded by Mom tonight. If I’m not sent to jail before…

“Hum, actually I’m not supposed to be at school right now. I’ve been suspended for a week. So, we don’t need to go there, right?” She tried to convince the captain, plastering a nervous smile on her face.

The captain looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. 

“Not only were you fighting with a high-ranked magistrate, but you were also suspended from school. Your case is getting worse my dear.” He replied, with an expressionless face and monotonous tone.

I’m also forbidden to use my firebending actually , she thought and that made her grin.

“I’m not sure you will still be smiling in front of your teachers.” He declared, a sadistic smile on his lips.

Nanami glared at him and rolled her eyes. Before they left the park, a man called out to them. He was wearing a red attire, with a pointed hat, and had a long gray beard.

“Excuse me, sir. I am Jii, a Fire Sage. I would like to speak with this young girl.” The old man politely said to the captain.

“I’m sorry, Fire Sage. I need to take her back to school. Maybe, you could come with us.”

“That’s a great idea. I would love to speak with her teachers too.” He replied and then smiled at Nanami.

Nanami looked up at him, a frown drawing on her face and marking uneasiness from a bad feeling. 

What does this old guy want from me?

Chapter Text

Part 2: Eleven Years Ago

They arrived at the Royal Fire Academy and the captain called out to a small teacher standing guard in the main courtyard during break time. Nanami recognised the man causing her body to stiffen and her face to wince, dreading what was going to happen.

Crap, that’s Toh!

“Excuse me, sir. We’ve found this student of yours, fighting in a park nearby.” He explained slowly, pointing at Nanami, who was looking down at her feet so as not to meet Toh’s eyes.

Toh’s face turned red in anger when he saw his problematic student being brought back by the Royal Army.

“You again!” He shouted, unable to contain his rage. “To the Headmaster’s office immediately!” He turned to the officer and said in a calmer voice, “This way, please.”

Everyone looked at Nanami. She was escorted by the army, the captain’s hand on her shoulder as if she was a prisoner. Shuu was surprised to see his little sister at school and when he saw her being brought by the army, a worried expression came over his face. Iroh experienced the same anxious feeling as he watched Nanami walking towards the main building with Toh and other men.

Miya, Saki and Hiroki were sitting at the fountain and the latter couldn’t help but facepalm when he saw his friend – who was supposed to be at home. Saki spotted someone she knew very well and ran to them, followed by Miya and Hiroki.

“Dad!” She called. “What are you doing here? What happened to my friend?”

“Saki!” The magistrate exclaimed. “Your friend? Are you telling me that this savage is your friend?” His face turned red just like Toh’s did earlier.

❁

Nanami was standing for the second time of her life in front of the intimidating Headmaster Kaito – and she felt that it wouldn’t be the last time. His hands were clasped in front of his face, his elbows resting on the desk. Everyone stood straight and the fact that he was the only one sitting made it look like he was a judge.

A heavy silence pervaded the office. Nanami was stuck between Toh and Oku, the captain of the Royal Army, her hands behind her back and waited nervously for someone to break the unbearable silence.

“To what do I owe the honour of the visit of a magistrate and the captain of the Royal Army?” Kaito asked, his deep voice resonating in the office. “As well as a Fire Sage?”

“This young girl here had caused some trouble in the park,” the captain explained.

“Hey! I didn’t do anything wrong! He’s the one who started the fight!” Nanami vehemently protested, pointing at Dao, Saki’s father.

Toh glared at her which made Nanami gulp and simmer down.

“A fight again, Miss Nanami?” Kaito asked her. “What happened?”

“This cheeky girl set fire to a tree in the park!” Dao chimed in and accused her.

“No, that’s not true! It was you!” Nanami argued back and added, looking at the Headmaster, “It couldn’t have been me. It was not my fire.”

“Of course it was you! Luckily, the Royal Army was nearby and they could put out the fire quickly! Else, the whole park would have burned because of your mistake!”

“So the fire was put out then?” Kaito asked, understanding what Nanami was implying earlier.

Toh also grasped the situation but stayed silent. Oku looked at the two teachers, sensing a change in their attitude.

“Yes, sir. The fire hadn’t spread much yet, so we were able to put it out relatively rapidly.”

He noticed that Kaito’s look was different from earlier. The headmaster was now more relaxed, and his presence was less intense.

“I understand. We’ll take care of our student, captain. Thank you and sorry for the trouble.”

“What? No! I demand a trial! This girl nearly killed me!” Dao snapped.

“Magistrate Dao, with all due respect, I suggest you abandon your accusations and train in firebending again. You could have your daughter teach you. She’s an excellent firebender!” Kaito said lightly, but his tone sounded nothing like a joke and was firm.

The magistrate's face broke down. He was offended and was not going to let a simple school headmaster speak to him in that tone.

“How dare you? I’ll bring that girl to court! She will be put in prison for her crime!” He shouted with all his might.

Oku looked at the others with a skeptical expression on his face. He knew something was wrong with this story, but he didn’t know what and his gaze turned to Nanami. She was now feeling calm and her eyes shone brightly, staring fiercely at the magistrate. This little girl had something that made her teachers believe in her.

“Magistrate Dao,” Kaito began, “I strongly advise you to give up on bringing my student to the court. You would be sure to lose the trial if you went.”

Oku was impatiently waiting for the bearded man to explain things. However, he seemed to find it quite amusing to toy with the magistrate’s anger and kept on beating around the bush. 

“How could I lose?” Dao snickered, annoyed by Kaito’s overconfidence.

“Actually, magistrate, my student here is a little special. Maybe you noticed it when you fought with her, but her firebending is quite unusual.”

Oku fidgeted, holding his breath and waiting for Kaito to quickly spill the beans about the little girl’s firebending. Next to him, Magistrate Dao was feeling nervous, droplets of sweat running down his temples. He was enraged by Kaito’s arrogant behaviour. 

“What do you mean?” Dao asked, trying to recall his fight with Nanami to understand what Kaito was talking about.

He suddenly remembered that the young firebender didn’t get burned by his fireballs and her eyes shone weirdly. He realised that the friend his daughter was talking about at home that had a special fire was the little girl he had fought. 

He turned his head to face Nanami. She was staring at him wildly with her bright golden eyes, sparkling like flames, as if she was looking at a prey. The confident look in her eyes made him shudder and he moved away from her a little.

“My student’s fire can’t be put out by water. So, if the fire from the tree had been put out by water, then it means it was not hers.” Kaito explained haughtily, knowing by looking at Dao that he had heard about Nanami from Saki. “Let’s not make a big deal out of this little fight, shall we?”

Kaito flashed a fake smile to the magistrate, showing a contemptuous satisfaction. Dao was fuming as he was being ridiculed by this simple citizen. He couldn’t stand Kaito’s disdain anymore and stormed out of the office as quickly as lightning.

Oku stood there in a daze, unable to process what he had just heard. A fire that couldn’t be put out by water? How could that exist? That was impossible! He couldn’t believe that! What was this crazy old man saying? That girl didn’t seem out of the ordinary! How could she possess any kind of special ability? That was absurd! But then why didn’t the magistrate answer back? Many questions invaded his mind and just made him more confused.

He cleared his throat to remind his presence and said with a shaking voice, “Is it true? What you’ve just said?”

“I never lie, captain. Everything I’ve said is true.”

“This girl is dangerous. A fire that can’t be controlled is a threat to the nation.”

Nanami jolted at the word “dangerous”. This man also thought she was a monster and she looked down, a feeling of dejection taking hold of her. 

“There’s no fire that can’t be controlled, captain. If control was the only thing that made fire dangerous, then we wouldn’t have had the One Hundred Year War.” Kaito declared calmly.

Nanami raised her head, listening carefully to what the Headmaster was saying, hope shining in her eyes.

“What is truly dangerous and a threat for the nation, is what the firebender decides to do with their fire. I believe that Nanami here doesn’t mean any harm and only needs someone to guide her. That is why she joined our academy. Our professors fully dedicate themselves to their students.”

Nanami opened her eyes wide. The Headmaster believed in her.

“Then, what can I do for you, High Sage?” Kaito then addressed Jii.

“I heard a lot of interesting things just now.” Jii replied. “Anyway, I was actually watching the fight from the temple, which is actually quite close to the park, and I saw something really unusual.”

He walked over to Nanami and knelt down on one knee to face her.

“Those bright golden eyes shone for a few seconds,” he said, staring at her. “I thought I might have been hallucinating, but then an apprentice came and told me that the eyes of Avatar Roku’s statue had shone around the same time as hers.”

High Sage Jii had a soft voice. He was speaking really quietly and calmly, which made his tone really mysterious.

“Young lady, how old are you?”

Nanami didn’t understand what all of this was really about. All that mattered to her was that she didn’t want to get punished again and avoid her mother’s terrible scolding that awaited her if she caused more trouble. Who cares about my age? 

“Eleven.” She replied in an uninterested voice, which reminded her of Hiroki’s.

“Right, eleven years old,” High Sage Jii stood, a satisfied look on his face and turned to the headmaster. “This same phenomenon happened eleven years ago.”

No one replied and they all stayed silent. After a few minutes looking at each other, Kaito finally spoke to the young girl, without any malice in his voice contrary to what his words might suggest.

“You truly are a troublesome firebender, Nanami.”

Chapter Text

Nanami was lying on her bed unable to sleep. It had only been a little over a month since she had started attending the Royal Fire Academy and so many things had happened. She did not have time to process it all in her head yet. 

First, Toh told me my firebending was so bad he couldn’t even sense it. Then, on my first firebending lesson, we discovered that it was unusual and I had to stop attending firebending training and practice martial arts instead. After that, I got into a fight and was suspended for a week, during which I got into another fight. Then a Fire Sage told me that I’ve got some sort of connection to Avatar Roku because his statue’s eyes and mine shone at the same time, during the last fight and eleven years ago, when I was born. How could my life get so messy? 

Nanami sighed and closed her eyes to relax, feeling that her head would explode if she kept on thinking about complicated things. 

Now I have to wait for Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko to come, but they’re busy with things in Republic City… How long will they take to come here? I’m not patient, I don’t like waiting… And I also have supplementary lessons with Toh about the spiritual side of firebending. Luckily, I’ve learned the chi before, so it’s not too hard.

So many thoughts were invading her mind and were preventing her from falling asleep, tossing and turning in bed. Her thoughts then turned to Iroh. Prince Iroh.

So Iroh was the prince, she thought. I wonder why he didn't tell me. He probably had his reasons.

She got up and sat at her desk where a book was lying.

I’ll have to apologize to him tomorrow for not realizing he was the prince. And for being rude to him.

On her desk was a small lantern with a wax candle inside. To light it up, she usually used fire-making stones, but she was a firebender now. Ignoring her teachers' warnings about not using her power, she lit up the lamp by throwing a little flame in it and started reading a book about the United Republic. The multicultural state was well-known for its advanced technology and modern life. The United Forces were also multicultural, which made them strong.

That sounds so nice! Modern life and a multicultural army. I've never seen masters of the other elements! It would be nice to go to Republic City one day, she dreamed.

Her eyelids were starting to get heavy as fatigue won her over. But what to do with the fire? She tried blowing on it but obviously, that did not work. She was too tired to think and reached unconsciously towards the flame. She closed her eyes, trying to feel the fire's energy and thought hard about taking it back. She accidentally touched the fire and the warmth made her open her eyes, but it did not burn — it was just a little warm. As she folded her fingers in her palm, the fire went back to her hand.

It worked! I took the fire back, she realised happily, before returning to her bed and sleeping soundly for the rest of the night. 

❁

The next day, Nanami looked for Iroh during lunchtime. She finally found him after looking for a while. He was sitting alone in a little corner of the library, reading a book.

"Hi!" she greeted him with a smile, sitting on the armchair in front of him.

He looked up at her and smiled back, closing his book. "Hi, Nanami!"

"I'm sorry for interrupting your reading time," she apologised.

"That's okay, I'm happy to talk to you," he replied in a gentle voice, flashing her a cute smile.

"And… I'm sorry about…" she started to say, looking for her words. "About everything," she said, smiling embarrassedly.

Iroh looked surprised. He didn’t understand what she was sorry about.

"I'm sorry for not knowing you were the prince. I'm sorry for being rude to you and calling you just Iroh. I never meant to be disrespectful to you though. I just didn't know."

"So you found out," he replied, slightly saddened. "That's okay, I didn't mind. Don't worry about it." He smiled gently to reassure her.

"Why did you not tell me? Do you not like it when people call you 'prince'?" she asked.

"That was the first time I met someone who didn't know who I was. And to be honest, I was so relieved. You talked to me as if I was a normal boy and I really liked it. When people find out that I'm the prince, they usually try to befriend me for their own benefit, or they don't talk to me at all. I only have a few close friends who don't care who I am," he explained to the attentive girl.

"I'm sorry people try to take advantage of your position and status for their own benefits. Those people are just too stupid to see that you are much more than just a prince. Don't mind them. Just be yourself!" Nanami comforted the anxious young prince.

Iroh looked at her, amazed and soothed by his friend's words. She was so honest and he felt really at ease when talking to her. Her presence comforted him and her sweet voice removed all his worries at once. He looked completely captivated by her, as she kept on talking about how bad those kind of people were.

"Well, that's just what my family always tells me when I'm feeling down," she laughed, concluding her speech.

"Thanks, Nanami. I feel better each time I talk to you," he said, which made Nanami flush right away. "But could you do one thing for me? Keep calling me just Iroh.  Don't change anything. You're an amazing girl," he praised her, making her blush all the way to the tips of her ears. "Oh! Was everything alright yesterday?" he asked.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Seems there’s some connection to the Avatars, so the Headmaster will ask Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko for their help. I have to wait for them now and it sucks because I’m totally not patient,” she laughed.

"My grandfather should be back in a few months. Things are about to finish up at Republic City. He and Avatar Aang will probably be back as soon as they can when they get the Headmaster's message."

"Yeah, I hope so," Nanami replied. "I'm just a little bit frustrated not being able to train with everyone," she sighed. "I hope I won't be left behind by others."

"That's okay, I'm sure you will be able to catch up in no time!" Iroh cheered her up.

"Thanks, little Iroh! You're so sweet," she smiled, making him blush this time. "We should get going. Lessons will be resuming soon," she concluded.

The two of them stood up and walked out of the library. They parted ways in the hall, Iroh going to the main courtyard and Nanami in the backyard.

The afternoon went as usual. Nanami practiced martial arts with non-benders and reunited with her friends in the inner yard at the end of the day. They chatted a little while Nanami was waiting for Toh's spiritual lessons. When he arrived, Saki and Hiroki went home, while Miya headed back to her dorm. Toh and Nanami stayed in the deserted courtyard to train.

He began the lesson by talking about the spiritual side of firebending, which is usually unknown to most. Then, they would spend the rest of the time meditating. Nanami was practicing how to connect with her inner spirit and control her inner energy. After weeks of training, and thanks to the chi masters, she was able to control her fire. She could firebend and take back the fire she had produced, so it was less dangerous to let her firebend. After a month of training, at the end of the lesson, Toh announced something.

"I have nothing more to teach you. This is the last lesson. You will have to be patient and wait for Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko to know more about your power," he began his usual long speech. "It was surprisingly pleasant to teach you. You were a remarkable student, always hard-working — a little bit impatient though — and I was wrong about you. I'm sure you will be doing great things in the future. I expect nothing less from my prized student."

He smiled at her for the first time. Nanami was greatly surprised by his words. It was the first time she heard praises coming from his mouth. That too they were for her. She felt really happy and satisfied.

"Thank you, professor. I'm honored by your words. I was wrong about you too. I thought you were a grumpy old man at first, but it turns out you were a great teacher, seeking perfection for his students. It has been my pleasure to be your student and I hope you will continue to guide me during my time at the academy," she said, ending with a Fire Nation salute.

"Fool! You're too honest. Don't ever call me a grumpy old man ever again," he joked before walking away.

All that's left is for Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko to come back now, Nanami thought as she left.

Two months after the last spiritual lesson, a Fire Nation hawk delivered a message from Fire Lord Zuko to Kaito: he and Avatar Aang were on their way to the Fire Nation.

Chapter Text

At the Royal Palace, young Prince Iroh woke up earlier than usual. The black-haired boy was sitting on the edge of his bed, both hands clasped and his head down, looking at the floor. He had not slept well. He had kept waking up during the night and he was feeling tired now. His eyes hurt, as well as his head. He took a breath and headed towards the window to open the curtains. The sun had not risen yet and moonlight penetrated his large room. Iroh's room had a lot of space, but it was decorated with sobriety.

The only things that stood out in the room were a dagger and a pair of blades, exposed side by side on a dark-colored wood desk. The dagger was the one General Iroh had given to his nephew Fire Prince Zuko, and the latter then gave it to his grandson in memory of his noble-hearted uncle. The blades were Fire Lord Zuko's own dual blades that he used when he did not want people to find out he was a firebender. Those blades were the one Fire Lord Zuko had used to free Avatar Aang from General Zhao. These objects were precious treasures that young Prince Iroh had been entrusted with by his grandfather. They helped him remember how to keep wisdom and honor.

Iroh was a brilliant boy. He was smart and a strong firebender. He had a noble heart and was humble and brave. However, despite all those qualities, he had something he didn’t like about himself: he was a prince. And being the prince meant that you have responsibilities to shoulder. Leading the nation or fighting for his people were not what made him dislike his position. What he deplored was that the title he possessed came with hypocrisy. A lot of people only approached him for their own benefits, seeking a way to climb the ladder.

Kids at school only saw him as Prince Iroh and not as Iroh, a young boy like any other one. Only a few close friends understood him. And that's why he was anxious about his first day at the academy. Most of the students enrolled in the Royal Academy came from wealthy or noble families with their parents working as magistrates or military officers. Very few people came from other backgrounds and those people were too scared to approach a prince. Other students would probably befriend him for their own advantage. It had happened so many times in the past that he was sick of it now.

Why can't people see me for who I really am? Am I just a prince in their eyes? And they all compare me to the former General Iroh. Of course I want to be as noble as him. But I'm not him! I'm Iroh! Iroh the Second… 

Iroh sighed while looking at the moon. 

I don't like that title! I'm honored to have been named after him, though. I wished I could meet someone who will befriend me for who I am, just Iroh and not Prince Iroh. Someone whom I could enjoy my time with and speak freely. Someone who wouldn't know I'm the prince.

While lost in his thoughts, the sun finally started to rise. Iroh stood slowly and went to prepare himself. 

Well, I guess it's time to go.

*****

Iroh was in group three for his general lessons, and in group one for firebending lessons. Luckily for him, he was in the same group as his friends. His classroom was in the Red Dragon pavilion, on the second floor. His main teacher was a middle-aged woman with glasses, who seemed to be really strict and severe. His group was standing next to another group in the inner yard, who had a teacher who was really loud. It was an old man, and he did not look kind at all, but rather he seemed to be grumpy. All his students were looking at him with fear.

"One means you're in the strongest group, ten means you're in the weakest group. Which group are you in, young girl?" Iroh heard him ask a girl. The girl looked down, hiding her upset face. 

"Group ten, sir," she replied. 

"Right," the old man said, with a smirk on his face. 

Aw, poor girl. 

The other students in her group laughed at her. Iroh kept on looking at the girl, not paying attention to what his own teacher was saying. She had long black hair, tied in the traditional Fire Nation top-knot, and shiny golden eyes. The color of her eyes was so beautiful, it seemed to reflect the sunlight. 

She's glaring daggers; she looks furious. Iroh chuckled.

A boy who looked like he came from a rich family approached her and told her something. She glared at him, answering with something Iroh could not hear from where he was. She suddenly stomped on his right foot, making the boy wince from the pain,  and followed her teacher to the Red Dragon Pavilion. Iroh laughed. 

What a brilliant girl! And she's so short-tempered, how wonderful. She's in the Red Dragon Pavilion too. Maybe we'll meet... She really brightened my day! he thought jovially before following his own group.

Chapter Text

Aang, Zuko, a young man and a flying bison disembarked at the harbor of Capital Island on a morning in the early summer. The air was hot but not suffocating yet. They came to meet a young girl from the Royal Fire Academy who was rumored to have a special firebending power. They tried to think about it on their way to the Fire Nation, but they have never heard of that kind of ability before. A palanquin was waiting for them at their arrival to get them to the Royal Palace. But they preferred to fly on Aang’s bison, Appa. Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko seated on the back of Appa, while the young man took place on the bison’s head.

“It’s been such a long time since I last came here,” Aang said, looking down on the city.

“Well, yeah, for me too actually,” Zuko replied, laughing. “It’s supposed to be my home though. Let’s rest at the palace for now, we’ll go to the academy in the afternoon.”

In the meantime, Nanami was listening to Toh’s lesson about the Water Tribes. Water was the opposite element of fire. Most of waterbending moves were flexible and fluid, as if water was running through the bender’s body; in opposition to firebending moves, which were sharp and powerful. It has been two days since they received the message from Fire Lord Zuko. Nanami looked at the Royal Palace through the window. They shouldn’t be far away and could be arriving anytime soon.

After lunchtime, Nanami and her friends walked to a corner of the main courtyard, where a Pai Sho table was installed. They often came to play, except for Miya who did not know how to play the game. Today, it was Saki against Nanami. The rich young lady never won a single game against her friend, even though she has been taught to play Pai Sho by one of the best teachers since a young age. This time again, it did not look good for her. Nanami pushed her into a corner, the game was about to end on her victory again.

“And … My win!” Nanami declared after moving her tile for the last time.

“Again?” Saki dejectedly said. “How can you be so good at this game? I’ve never won against you! Neither did Hiroki!”

“Well, I’ve been playing with my Grandpa since like, always?” Nanami replied laughing. “You two play strictly by the book. That’s your weakness! You’re only using conventional and déjà vu strategies. My Grandpa Nobuo always tell me to be bold and use unexpected moves, so your opponent would be destabilized.”

The four friends were still talking when a large silhouette overshadowed the Pai Sho table. They looked up to see the Headmaster standing in front of them. They immediately stopped chatting and all of them stiffened. Kaito was standing there, with an intimidating aura around him. He looked down at the uneasy young students with an intense gaze. There was a long moment of silence. Time seemed to stand still. All other students present in the main courtyard also stopped talking when the Headmaster walked in. Iroh, who was also here, looked at Nanami and her friends. Nanami, he thought, worried about her.

“Nanami,” Kaito called her with his deep voice. “Come with me.” He then turned his head to the other three. “You three prepare for the firebending lessons, it is going to begin soon.” He then walked away and Nanami followed his steps. As she was heading towards the main building, she passed over Iroh. The young prince timidly waved at her while smiling. Iroh, she thought and smiled back at him before entering the building. After Kaito and Nanami disappeared from view, time resumed in the courtyard.

Avatar Aang, Fire Lord Zuko and the young man were waiting in Kaito’s office. Nanami entered the room after the Headmaster. Fire Lord Zuko was a man around his sixties, with his characteristic scar on his left eye. Nanami looked at him. So he’s Iroh’s grandfather then. Avatar Aang was about as tall as Fire Lord Zuko and looked a little younger. He had a shaved head with a blue arrow on it and a brown beard. Must be Avatar Aang, he seems nice. The third man was a young man, with a shaved head like Avatar Aang. He also had the airbending master tattoo. Who’s that? He’s also got the tattoo. Is he Avatar Aang’s son? Aang walked over to the young girl who was scanning the three visitors with her golden eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Nanami. I’m Avatar Aang. This is Fire Lord Zuko, and this is my youngest son, Tenzin,” he introduced himself and the two others. Aang’s voice was calm and soothing. Nanami bowed, without replying. She was feeling nervous. “We’re here because we received a message from your teacher saying you had an unusual firebending technique.” Nanami looked in the Avatar’s eyes and nodded. She was not feeling well. Stress was starting to overwhelm her. She felt her heart beating fast and her temperature rising, just like that night. She began to breathe hard and quickly, as the pressure was increasing.

Aang tried to calm the little girl but it seemed she could not hear him. Her eyes started to shine and glow, reflecting the sunlight that came from the window in the office. Her skin also seemed to be gleaming. The Avatar looked closer. Curved shining golden lines were drawing on her arms, following her blood vessels. The light in her eyes was becoming stronger, like cats’ eyes in the dark.

Nanami was still breathing heavily; she could not calm down. Why is it happening to me? I’m supposed to be able to control my inner energy now! Avatar Aang tried to grab her hand to appease her but when he touched her, her skin was so hot that he almost burned himself. He quickly pulled his hand back. Zuko, Tenzin and Kaito looked baffled by this unbelievable phenomenon. They could not move; they were so stunned.

When she saw she had hurt Avatar Aang, Nanami’s panic only grew. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would explode. Unable to contain her fear anymore, Nanami's energy burst out and created an enormous explosion. The blast was so powerful that it swept Kaito’s office, blowing out the entire third floor of the main building.

Windows shattered into small pieces. The desk went flying, as well as all the books on the shelves. Paper swirled in all directions. The room was a mess. A loud sound echoed throughout the school and a big cloud of smoke enveloped the room. The other four benders had to protect themselves so as not be ejected from the ground. Fortunately, the walls did not break and the structure was still standing, protecting them from a roof collapse.

Dust and burn smell were wrapping around the benders. The thick fog of smoke made them cough and was preventing them from seeing clearly. When it faded away, Aang glimpsed Nanami’s silhouette. She was in the center of a fireball that formed a shield around her. Exhausted by using all of her energy, the young girl fainted and fell unconscious on the floor, making the fireball disappear. Aang ran to her side and tried to wake her up by calling her name, but the mysterious little firebender could not hear him anymore…

Chapter Text

When the explosion happened, everyone was still in class. The first years, who were practicing firebending or martial arts in the yards, looked up at the partially destroyed main building. Panic started to spread throughout the students, even though the teachers tried to calm them down. 

In the main courtyard, Prince Iroh, who didn't get carried away by panic, immediately thought of Nanami who had been taken to the Headmaster’s office. He dashed to the northern gate in the same direction she had gone. A teacher tried to stop him but he didn’t even look back. Saki, who was also in the main courtyard, followed him hurriedly. In the hall, they met Miya and Hiroki, coming from the southern gate, who were also rushing to the third floor. 

The four of them quickly climbed the stairs and arrived at the Headmaster’s office – or at least what was left of it. A group of teachers were already there, forming a circle around the Avatar and the others. The four kids wove their way between the teachers to put themselves in the front row. When they saw their friend lying unconscious, they uttered soft cries in shock. Miya, Saki and Hiroki, really worried about their friend, held hands to comfort one another. Iroh hurried to his grandfather’s side to watch over the young girl.

As she was not regaining consciousness, Nanami was transported to the infirmary. Classes resumed normally on the Headmaster’s orders and the four students returned to their firebending training, still anxious about their friend. The afternoon seemed endless. None of them managed to focus on bending fire, still concerned about their classmate. Even Toh seemed restless and worried about his apprentice, making him distracted during his lesson.

At the end of the day, Nanami still had not woken up yet. Miya, Saki, Hiroki and Iroh were seated beside her bed, as well as her older brother Shuu, who had rushed over when he had heard the news. Avatar Aang, Fire Lord Zuko, Master Tenzin, Headmaster Kaito and Professor Toh were talking in another room.

Shortly after, Nanami slowly woke up and painfully opened her eyes. Miya, Saki and Shuu threw themselves on her to hug the little girl.

“Hey, wait! Give her some space! She just woke up,” Hiroki raised his voice, contrary to his habit, trying to stop them.

The three moved away as Nanami tried to get up but her arms could not support her.

“Don’t move, you’re still weak,” her brother told her, helping her lie back down. “I’m gonna call the teachers,” he added as he left the room.

“What happened?” Nanami asked faintly.

“Well… You kinda blew out the Headmaster’s office,” Saki replied awkwardly.

“Oh no… What about the others? And, will I be expelled?” Nanami inquired sorrowfully.

“That’s okay, don’t worry about that, they won’t expel you,” Iroh replied, getting closer to her. “The others are fine, they’re not hurt. But what about you, are you feeling okay now?”

“Iroh? You came. I’m okay, but my limbs feel like lead. I can’t move and I can’t raise my voice any more than this,” she answered softly, smiling at him.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Iroh whispered relievedly . He looked at her tenderly and took her small hand in his.

While the five students were still talking, Shuu came back with Avatar Aang, Fire Lord Zuko, Tenzin, the Headmaster Kaito and Professor Toh. They walked in and stood next to Nanami’s bed. The little girl apologized for what she did to Kaito’s office and for nearly hurting them. She then spoke to her teacher and told Toh she was so sorry she couldn’t put into practice what he taught her, but the grumpy old man didn’t hold it against her. 

Her abilities were much more powerful than what they had expected. Aang explained that they didn’t know anything about that kind of skill and that the priority was that she rests for the moment. They would look into that matter and come back to her when they found something interesting. Nanami nodded and closed her eyes as she hadn’t yet recovered, falling into a light sleep.

The infirmary was spacious with many beds lined up. The room was lit with little oil lamps hung on the wall above each bed. Small flames were dancing in their lamp shades and created a cozy, dim atmosphere.

Suddenly, all the flames disappeared and plunged the room into darkness. Only the moon brought light into the sick room. Aang, Zuko and the others fidgeted, trying to understand what had happened. Zuko lit the lamps back with his firebending. However, the flames would disappear right back, as soon as they reached the lamps. No matter how many times the Fire Lord tried to light the lamps, the result was still the same: the flames would vanish each time.

Their eyes then turned to a new source of light that was shining: Nanami’s body was covered by the same golden lines as earlier. Amber tracings highlighted several of the blood vessels under her skin. Her body glowed for a few seconds before stopping and plunging the room into darkness again. They could only look at the phenomenon with amazement, without being able to say anything.

“Who turned off the lights?” Nanami, who opened her eyes, asked. Her voice was clear and intelligible again. She sounded like she had recovered her energy.

Fire Lord Zuko tried for the umpteenth time to throw flames into the oil lamps and this time it finally worked. Nanami’s face, which previously looked really tired, was now full of life. Her usual bright golden eyes returned back, shining more than ever like small sparks. Feeling better, she then tried to stretch her arms and legs.

“I suddenly feel really good!” she joyfully declared, noticing she could finally move as she pleased and added with a smile, “I was so exhausted a few moments ago and now I’m back in full shape! Did you use some of your power on me, Avatar Aang? Thank you so much!” 

Aang looked back at the lively little girl, baffled and not knowing what to tell her. 

What just happened? It was as if she absorbed the flames from the oil lamps and they restored her energy. Is that even possible? He wondered in this head.

“No, it was not me. You healed yourself on your own...,” Aang slowly answered her, a bewildered look drawing on his face. 

He stayed silent for a few seconds, and finally declared, “I think I need to talk to your family, Nanami.”

Chapter Text

“Appa, yip yip!” Tenzin shouted, shaking the reins.

“Wow, it’s so cool! We’re flying!” Nanami exclaimed, overjoyed by her first time on a sky bison. 

Appa was flying over Capital City, towards the shopping district, carrying on board the two airbenders, Nanami, Shuu and Hiroki - who also lived in the same neighborhood. The latter was so scared of heights that he didn’t even dare to look over the saddle, keeping his eyes shut and his head down all along the way. 

A nice breeze blew and cooled the city, making the evening flight even more pleasant for the passengers. What usually took them forty minutes by walk, only lasted ten minutes on Appa’s back. 

“It was so fast!” Nanami said, thrilled, when they landed in front of the Red Dragon, after dropping Hiroki off first.

Seeing the little girl excited, Tenzin used his airbending to create an air spiral under Nanami to make her get off the bison. 

“A mini tornado!! That was awesome!! Please do it again Master Tenzin!” 

The young firebender was now bursting with energy, which was unthinkable a few hours ago, when she was still unconscious in the infirmary. 

“Another time Nanami,” Tenzin chuckled, patting the little girl’s head.

Nanami then ran towards her family’s tea shop and opened the door wide. Her family was waiting for them, sitting at a round table, their faces saddened by worry. 

“We’re home!” 

Seeing the youngest lively walking in, they rushed to the door and warmly welcomed her in their arms. 

“You’re safe!” Her mother exclaimed, hugging her as hard as she could. “We were so worried when the messenger told us you had passed out.”

“Mom, I can’t breathe like that,” Nanami whispered, breathlessly. “I’m sorry for making you worry, but I’m fine now!” she added, while looking at the others who looked relieved. “Avatar Aang and his son, Master Tenzin, came to talk to you.”

Aang then entered the old tea shop, followed by Shuu, waiting by the door for Tenzin to come in as he was taking care of Appa. 

“I’m sorry to bother you late at night,” Aang apologized. “But I wanted to talk to you as soon as possible.”

“No, we’re the one who are sorry, Avatar Aang. Our daughter had caused you a lot of trouble and we’re grateful that you helped her. Please come in and have a seat,” Kouichi replied with a respectful voice, taking out two chairs for the airbenders. 

Nobuo then brought some tea and served it to their visitors.

“Thank you,” Aang said, sitting down, then took a sip of the beverage. “So, as you would expect, we’re here to talk about Nanami’s singular ability. Do you happen to know anything about this?”

A silence descended over the room. The whole family looked at each other, looking for an answer but they were all clueless, aside from Masuko, the grandmother. She stepped forward and spoke in a calm tone. 

“I might know something about this. I’m not sure if it is related though.” 

Masuko then sat down, taking a teacup, and drank a bit before continuing.

“It’s an old legend that has been passed down for generations in my home village,” she began her story. “I am from a village on a small island in the East of Capital Island, but we were originally from another island in the North. This is the story my grandfather had told me so many times when I was still a child. It’s the legend of the Red Dragon.”

Everyone was carefully listening to each of her words. Masuko was narrating them the tale really slowly, taking a break from time to time to sip in her tea. Aang was staring at the elder woman, with a respectful gaze, and focusing on her silvery voice.

According to Masuko, the people that came to live on that island were non-benders that arrived from the main island of the Fire Nation, looking for a fresh start in life. The small island was full of nature; the fauna and flora were drawn as far as the eye could see and the green landscapes covered more than half the area.

A massive mountain, which was actually a sleeping volcano, dominated the entire island from its height. It was located in the center of the land, surrounded by endless forests. The villagers decided to build their village near the foot of the mountain, on a welcoming ground.

One day, a curious villager decided to climb to the top of the mountain. When he reached the summit, he was surprised to find a red dragon living in the crater of the volcano. The dragon, startled by the presence of the human, rose from his full height to intimidate the unwelcome guest.

However, seeing that the man didn’t want to hurt him, the dragon calmed down and accepted to listen to his story. After that, other villagers came to visit the dragon and the latter finally approved of the humans living on his island. Once in a while, the dragon would even come down and play with the children of the village, carrying them on his back to fly over the island.

The villagers managed to live in harmony with the master of the volcano and the peace lasted for many centuries. However, when Fire Lord Sozin commanded to slay all the dragons, balance had been broken. Soldiers came to track the Red Dragon but the villagers, who loved their companion, opposed the army and tried to protect their friend. But, the military was more powerful and firebenders destroyed the whole village, putting it to fire and the sword. 

Overwhelmed with grief by the destruction of the village, the Red Dragon exerted its anger against the soldiers, engulfing them in clouds of fire and smoke. Only a few inhabitants survived that dramatic incident and decided to move away to protect the existence of the dragon, acting as if the whole island and its occupants had been annihilated from the world.

After they left, nothing remained on the island except for the lonely dragon and, as agreed with his friends, the red reptile made the land fade under a cloud of ash dust, disappearing forever.

Masuko stopped talking, letting the others think about the story she had just told.

“The dragon could, like all dragons, breathe fire but it was also said to possess additional abilities.” 

She paused and remained silent for a few minutes. Her face was calm and she stared at her tea, in a relaxed attitude. She took a deep breath and then talked again.

“First, the fire blown by the Red Dragon could not be put out by water. Just like yours Nanami,” she declared.

Everyone looked at the little girl. Nanami was sitting at the table, attentively listening to her grandmother just like everyone. For once, she was rather quiet, compared to her usual loud self that greatly annoyed her family sometimes.

A fire that couldn’t be put out. Just like mine! Nanami thought, her eyes shining brightly with the desire to know more.

“Then, another thing my grandfather told me was that the dragon had healing powers. It could use his breath or energy – I don’t really know – to heal burns, but only burns. Other types of wounds couldn’t be healed,” Masuko continued, still talking slowly.

“Heal burns? Can you do that, Nanami?” her sister asked, raising her eyebrow.

“No, well, I don’t know actually. I’ve never tried,” Nanami replied, shrugging. “Is there anything else your grandfather told you, Grandma?”

“Let me think. Something about eating fire? I don’t remember well. Maybe that’s something all dragons could do,” Masuko replied, while looking at the ceiling to concentrate on her memories.

“That would be similar to what Nanami did in the infirmary,” Tenzin stated. “She kind of … absorbed the fire from the lights.”

“Do you know where the island is located?” Aang inquired.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know that. The location of the dragon had to be kept secret and has been lost through generations now,” she answered, shaking her head and wearing an apologetic expression on her face.

“That’s too bad. Luckily, I know some people who might know about this dragon,” Aang explained. “That’s the other reason I’m here tonight.”

He turned to Nanami and asked, “Nanami, would you like to go on a trip?”

Chapter Text

Nanami stared at the ceiling in her room. Ever since she had discovered her firebending, her life had been filled with twists and turns. It was too much for an eleven year old girl like her. 

She couldn’t reply to Avatar Aang’s proposition the other day. She felt conflicted about leaving her family, even though it was only for a short while. Luckily, the Avatar had been nice enough to give her some time – two weeks exactly – to think about it and make up her mind. But the allotted time would end tomorrow evening, and she would have to give her response.

It would be really cool to travel and learn more about my power, but I’ve never left the shopping district, let alone the Fire Nation. Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko will accompany me, but I’ll be on my own, and I’m not sure I’m brave enough to go.

She sighed, rolled over in her bed, and laid on her stomach, her face buried in the pillow. Her thoughts were all over the place.

What should I do? Mom, Dad and everyone told me I should go but I’m still anxious… Aaaaaah, get yourself together Nanami! You can do it. Go and find the truth behind your firebending!

After nearly two weeks of inner debate and seeking advice from family and friends, Nanami still hadn’t come up with an answer. She would start doubting herself each time she thought she had made up her mind, and would give up thinking seriously about the question because of a headache – and also because she’s the number one procrastinator in her family. 

It was an unusual situation for her. Of course, she had always been indecisive, but it had never been so hard for her to make a decision. She was thrilled at the idea of exploring more of the world; it was her dream. However, she couldn’t help but feel insecure about leaving her family and friends and traveling with amazing people, such as the Avatar and the Fire Lord. She felt intimidated, despite Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko being so nice, and didn’t consider herself ready for this trip yet.

However, a choice had to be made, and the deadline had already arrived at her doorstep. Nanami got up and sat on the edge of her bed, her face looking serious. She recalled everyone’s words and advice. Grandma Masuko told her to follow the path she had chosen for herself, her parents said to believe in herself, and the others encouraged her to follow her heart. 

I promised Grandma I wouldn’t let them down. I’ve got to do this. I’m going to find the Red Dragon!

❁

A sky bison flew over the starry night of Capital Island and landed in front of the Royal Palace. Tenzin’s bison, Oogi, picked up two additional passengers in his saddle, and took off again at a slow pace for his voyagers to admire the city at night. They alighted a few minutes later in front of a famous old tea shop and entered one by one.

“Iroh? You came?” Nanami ran to him, excited to welcome the prince for the first time in her home. “Welcome to the Red Dragon!”

“Thanks, Nanami. I wanted to see you,” he replies, smiling at her. “Good evening,” he greeted her family.

“Oh my spirits! Is he the prince?” Manami whispered into her older brother’s ear. Shuu nodded and the young girl squealed as quietly as she could from excitement. “He’s so cute!! Nanami has an eye for men.”

The visitors sat down as their hosts came with several platters of sweets and different varieties of tea to enjoy with the snacks. Nanami and Iroh continued to chat together, completely forgetting the main reason for their presence there. Zuko, who was not a big fan of tea despite spending his youth drinking his uncle’s tea, brought the teacup to his mouth and opened his eyes wide after swallowing down the first sip.

“I don't know much about tea, but this one tastes the same as my Uncle’s. It’s good. It’s not just hot leaf juice,” he joked, which made the others laugh as well.

“So Nanami, did you make up your mind?” Aang asked her, putting down his own teacup.

The little girl looked away from Iroh to lock gaze with the Avatar. Her eyes sparkled from determination and Aang didn’t even need her to reply to know her answer. Nanami nodded, a serious expression on her face with no smile, and Aang smiled back at her.

“Nice,” he commented. “Your holiday will start in two weeks. Zuko, Tenzin and I will accompany you. I think we will only be away for a week.”

Master Tenzin will be coming with us! Nanami thought, relieved that someone closer to her age than to her grandparents’ was coming with them.

He stood up and walked to Nanami. Aang put his hand on the young firebender’s shoulder and said, “You are a very courageous girl, Nanami.”

“Thank you, Avatar Aang.”

❁

A small crowd of people was standing in front of the Red Dragon tea shop. Nanami departed today for her journey, so her family and her friends reunited to send her off.

“Stay safe, little princess,” Akemi told her youngest daughter and hugged the young girl.

“I’ll be okay Mom. Don’t worry too much,” Nanami reassured her as her mother kissed her on the top of her head.

“Listen to Avatar Aang, Fire Lord Zuko and Master Tenzin, young lady. No more troubles!” She warned her gently, caressing Nanami’s cheek.

Miya, Saki and Hiroki stepped forward and the four friends stood in a circle.

“I can’t believe you’re going on an adventure with the Avatar,” Hiroki said, his voice sounding excited for the first time since they first met. “Tell me all about it when you’re back!”

They joined together in a large embrace, and Saki added, “We’ll be waiting for your return. Be careful on your way.”

Nanami nodded and turned to Iroh, who was standing next to his grandfather. The two of them stood still for a minute, not knowing what to say, nor to do. Nanami did consider hugging him like she just did with the others, but she felt embarrassed to do so. The young prince was just as flustered as her, and couldn’t even look her in the eye. It was a weird moment for both of them. They never had any problems talking before, but now, an awkward feeling had installed between them.

“Hmm,” Iroh began. “Take care, Nanami.”

Nanami smiled at him bashfully and bowed, before walking towards her grandmother.

My heart was beating so fast I couldn’t say anything to Iroh , she thought, putting her hand over her chest to feel her palpitations.

“My little dragon,” Masuko cooed as she took the little girl in her arms. “Stay safe.”

“Okay, time to go!” Aang announced.

Tenzin lifted the young girl with her airbending, propelling her softly in Oogi’s saddle. Nanami waved at her family and her friends one last time before the bison took off. Tenzin shook the reins and they flew in the bright blue sky of Capital Island. There was no cloud on the horizon, foretelling a beautiful day, and they headed straight north. 

At first, the young firebender felt nervous and intimidated by the two great figures of History that were sitting with her. She didn’t move at all and only looked over the saddle from time to time. She could see nothing but the vast ocean. No land was in sight; they were in the middle of nowhere.

Aang and Zuko were relieved that Nanami didn’t lose her determination to go on this trip. It isn’t easy for a child born during peace time to leave her loving family and travel with strangers to an unknown place. Even though they were pretty famous around the world, they weren’t part of her family or friends; the little girl had only met them a few times. They could feel her nervousness around her, so to make her comfortable, Aang started chatting with her.

After talking with the Avatar and the Fire Lord for a little while, Nanami felt more relaxed and became more excited for her journey. She started moving around in the saddle to admire the landscapes she could only see from the sky. They were still flying over the immense ocean, but she could now perceive different islands. 

The trip was peaceful and enjoyable for everyone. Aang and Zuko told the young child their adventures: how Aang came to master all four elements, how Zuko, who chased after them at first, finally joined the Avatar team, and how they all defeated the Phoenix King together to put an end to the Hundred Year War. Nanami listened to their story quietly, an admiring look in her eyes, and couldn’t stop asking for more details.

Time flew by and the journey Nanami had feared would take forever ended up seeming short to the impatient student. However, she had no idea where the Avatar was taking her to. But when she asked him, he seemed evasive, telling her it was a surprise, so she didn’t insist. Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang implied that the place would be amazing, making Nanami really look forward to their arrival. 

After days on Oogi’s back and a few breaks on random islands, the group finally reached their destination. Nanami caught sight of a whole city made of yellow stone bricks, lost in the middle of a mountainous land. A large and high pyramid stood in the center and most of the other constructions were covered by vines. Parts of the architecture of the buildings reminded Nanami of the Fire Sages’ temples.

Wow, this is truly amazing , the young girl thought, leaning over the saddle for a closer look.

The bison landed smoothly on a large, deserted courtyard. Aang propelled himself out of the saddle and alighted on the ground lightly. He extended his hand, and announced, with an enthusiastic tone. 

“Nanami, welcome to Sun Warriors’ ancient city!”

Chapter Text

Nanami followed Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko, looking excitedly around her. For a little girl who had never left her hometown, this picturesque village, representing an entire supposedly-lost civilization, was a marvelous entertainment. The countless traps that still worked despite being so old aroused her curiosity and fueled her excitement.

“Be careful of the traps, Nanami,” Fire Lord Zuko warned her, as they passed by an unsettling, quiet path. “They got us when we first came here.”

Remembering her mother’s words about listening to the adults, Nanami stopped wandering around on her own, and came back to the group rapidly, walking behind Aang and Zuko.

“Why are we here, Avatar Aang?” she asked, lifting her head on her left to look at him.

“We’ll go meet the true masters of firebending. They know every form of firebending. Surely, they’ll know about your power too,” Aang replied to her, a gentle smile on his lips.

Nanami nodded and looked back in front of her. Her legs were shorter, so she was lagging behind. Tenzin slowed down to wait for the little girl, and matched his pace with hers. He didn’t talk much, but Nanami liked him; he was nice with her.

They arrived in a large court where a crowd of people wearing nearly nothing formed a circle. Nanami raised her eyebrow, surprised by the paint on their faces and their weird clothes. A large man with the upper part of his face painted in red and white stepped forward. He had a goatee beard, and was wearing a big hat, colored in both yellow and red, with a pear-shaped insignia in the middle of his forehead. The top of the hat was covered with something that looked like fur, but Nanami was not sure what it really was.

“A tattooed man and a scarred-face man,” the stranger said thoughtfully, a hand on his chin. “We know you. You are the Avatar and the Fire Nation Prince.”

“Fire Lord now,” Zuko corrected, pointing at his headpiece.

“Sun Warrior chief,” Aang began. “We came here to meet the firebending Masters, Ran and Shaw.”

“Why do you want to meet them?” the chief inquired, squinting his eyes.

Aang and Zuko moved to the sides, letting a space between them for Nanami to come forward. Tenzin gently gave her a little push in the back to reassure her, as she was feeling nervous and didn’t budge from her place. The little girl stepped forward, her head hung low, and stood still between the Avatar and the Fire Lord. 

Nanami looked up at the chief, a restless expression drawn on her round, baby face. The Sun Warrior chief stared at her intently, scrutinizing her from head to toe. Nanami could feel her heart beat really fast. The man was making her uncomfortable with his inspection. His face was unfriendly, and a little bit scary. His tribe was giving her the same impression, and she gulped from all the pressure.

“I hope for you that your ancestors were nice people.”

Nanami raised her eyebrow, wondering why he talked about her ancestors. Anyway, she had absolutely no idea whether they were good people or not. She didn’t really know anything about them, apart from what her grandmother had told them the other day.

The Sun Warrior chief motioned to them to follow him with his head. They ascended a long set of steps, at the top of which they found a giant flame burning in the hollow of something that looked like a small sanctuary.

Nanami contemplated the fire in fascination, as if it was calling out to her. She could feel deep within herself the pulsation of the blaze, beating at the same tempo as her heart. She felt some sort of connection between her and the fire, her hairs standing on end.

“This is the Eternal Flame,” the chief presented. “It is the first fire acquired by humans. It was given as a gift to us by the dragons. We, Sun Warriors, have been keeping it alive for thousands of years now.”

A gift by dragons… that they had kept for thousands of years… Nanami thought, overawed by all of this.

The Sun Warrior chief stood in front of Nanami, looking serious.

“To meet the firebending masters, you will have to take a piece of the Eternal Flame and bring it to their cave over there,” he explained, pointing to a distant mountain. “If they deem you worthy of learning the true nature of firebending, they’ll teach you; else, you’ll be destroyed on the spot.”

Nanami shuddered upon hearing the last part of his sentence. Destroyed on the spot? How could she know whether she was worthy of learning the true nature of firebending or not? A chill ran down her spine, as stress built up inside of her, making her sweat a lot.

Aang quietly came closer and, kneeling down next to her, he put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s going to be alright, Nanami.”

Avatar Aang’s voice was nice and soothing, putting Nanami’s mind at ease. She nodded at him, and looked back at the Sun Warrior chief, waiting for him to continue. The latter observed her behavior closely, perceiving a change in her aura. Fear had left her, and was replaced by determination.

“If you’re ready, then here you are.”

He faced the Eternal Flame, and extending his arms, he took a flame out of it. He turned his hands around the piece of fire, and presented it to Nanami. 

“This ritual illustrates the Sun Warriors’ philosophy perfectly. You will have to maintain a constant temperature. The flame will die if it’s too small; and if it’s too big, it might go out of control.”

The young firebender held out her hands timidly to receive the flame, for fear of not being able to control it. As soon as the chief passed the Eternal Flame to her, Nanami’s eyes opened wide. Her body’s temperature rose, and her five senses went on alert. 

The small flame in her hands immediately increased in size when it came in contact with her, and made her bright golden eyes light up. It soon transformed into a fireball that enveloped her entire body, lifting her in the air.

A heavy silence hung over the ancient city. The Sun Warriors tribe stayed speechless in front of what was happening. Surprise was depicted on everyone’s faces, and they had their mouths agape. Aang, Zuko and Tenzin, although amazed, showed less astonishment. Nanami’s power was unknown and unpredictable; this reaction didn’t seem out of place to them.

The fireball slowly dispelled, and as if the fire fused with Nanami, it turned into amber lines drawing on her skin – just like the other day in the infirmary. As her feet touched the ground, a distant roar arose behind them.

All heads turned in that direction, looking for the cause of the loud sound. At this distance, Tenzin couldn’t see well, but he perceived two animals coming out of the caves. They looked like long snakes with wings. One was blue, and the other was red. They were dancing around a bridge that connected the two caves.

“The Masters…” the Sun Warrior chief murmured.

The two aforementioned masters breathed fire, which made Tenzin understand immediately. They were not winged snakes; they were dragons. The Firebending Masters were two dragons.

Nanami, her eyes still lit up, walked towards the Masters’ caves. She seemed unconscious, as if she was driven by a force.  However, her gait was resolute, taking rapid, confident steps. The Sun Warriors tribe, Aang, Zuko and Tenzin followed her quietly, until they reached the bottom of the stairs that lead to the Masters’ caves.

The Sun Warriors usually performed a ceremony to summon the Masters and tell them they had visitors wanting to learn the true essence of firebending. But this time, the dragons were already out, waiting for the firebender to join them on the bridge. The tribe could only stay and watch as Nanami slowly climbed the steps one by one.

When she arrived at the top, Ran and Shaw were already waiting for her. They could feel a special connection to this strange little girl. No need to observe her, nor deem her worthy of learning the true firebending form; her presence and aura felt familiar. They surrounded her by a colorful spiral to transmit their knowledge, the way they did with Aang and Zuko many years ago.

After passing on their wisdom and technique, Ran and Shaw stood in front of Nanami, who returned back to a normal state. The young firebender bowed to them, thanking them for their teachings.

“We have been waiting for you, young girl,” the red dragon said. “You must be looking for Tai Long, the Red Dragon.”

“Tai Long,” Nanami repeated. “Do you know where I can find him?”

“The island Tai Long has been living on was attacked a long time ago. He hid it, so no humans could find him anymore,” the blue one explained.

“Does that mean I can’t meet him?”

“We will tell you where his island was located. But, meeting with him will depend on you. You will have to show him you’re worthy of meeting him.”

“How do I show him I’m worthy of meeting him?”

“Only you can answer this question,” the Masters responded in unison. 

Nanami listened to their words carefully, recording everything in her memory.

After explaining everything to her, Ran and Shaw returned to their respective caves, leaving the little firebender alone on the bridge.

Chapter Text

Saki woke up slowly, taking the time to stretch her body in her big bed before getting up. It had been a few days since Nanami left. Today, she was going to hang out with Miya and Hiroki. They agreed to meet at the park near the Fire Sages’ Temple – the one where Nanami had a fight with her dad.

Her room was really spacious, overly decorated with expensive furniture – not to her liking though. Actually, the whole place was huge, and excessive. They had many more bedrooms than needed, with an army of servants, living in a separate aisle of the house.

Saki was the only daughter of Magistrate Dao and his wife Ying. Her parents were both born in influential noble families, and were raised in a traditional aristocratic way, having to marry someone from a noble rank. Of course, the same path was waiting for Saki, but the young lady didn’t really share her parents’ ideals.

All of her life, she had many servants attending her every need. Dao and Ying had been giving the best education to their child, employing the most competent teachers of the Fire Nation. They wanted her to be perfect in order to marry a good man in the future, maybe even the young Prince Iroh himself.

Her parents were strict with her, always telling her to behave when they had society receptions, inviting the most powerful families of the Fire Nation to their huge mansion. All nobles were the same; their only goal was to gain more popularity, and marry their children to the best possible match.

Saki never had the freedom to choose things in her life. Everything was already decided for her. Her clothes were picked by her mother, and her speech was dictated by her father. Perfect appearance, matching a perfect personality. All fake though. She never had the heart to tell her mother that the extravagant outfits she bought were ugly, and that she hated them. The only time she could be her true self was at school, with Nanami, Miya and Hiroki.

Saki was told, since a young age, to only hang out with kids of the same rank as her. However, on her first day at the Royal Fire Academy, as she was a shy girl, she sat at a table alone, waiting for the headmaster’s speech, and Miya was the first person to talk to her. It was really nice talking to such a cheerful girl she thought that day. Shortly after, Nanami came, and the three girls had become inseparable since then. They were her first real friends, not just kids that stayed with her because of her father’s status.

Hiroki was just the same as Nanami and Miya. He was nice to her, even if he didn’t talk that much – she wasn’t very talkative either. He always walked her home when they went back together, on the days Nanami was waiting for her brother. She became quite close to him, and was probably the closest to him among the three girls. Nanami and Miya always teased him, so they quarrelled a lot – it was never serious though.

Once out of bed, Saki dressed quickly, picking a random outfit in her wardrobe, and rushed out. She exited through the large gate of her family’s estate, and headed towards the school to pick Miya up. 

❁

The sun had just risen over the horizon, but a young girl was already exercising in front of the Royal Fire Academy dorms. Miya was stretching her body in the empty backyard, warming up before her daily morning jogging. She would usually run for thirty minutes, but she had added firebending practice in anticipation of the upcoming midterm exams. 

After working out for about an hour, Miya returned to the dorms, took a quick shower, and headed to the dining room where breakfast was served. She sat at a table with her roommate and other students.

Miya was a cheerful and outgoing girl, so she made friends in the dorms in no time. She enjoyed her new life as a boarding student. However, she sometimes missed her family back on Ember Island – especially her little brother – and felt homesick quite often during her first few weeks in the dorms. She was now used to living there though. 

At first, it was really difficult not being able to see her family whenever she wanted to. It was unbearable, and she felt like crying every night. Her family was really close, so coming here to study was already a great deal for her. But, prioritizing her education, her parents insisted that she enrolled in the Royal Fire Academy. 

She missed her little brother a lot. She was five years older than him, so she spoiled him a lot. She adored him. She used to play with him all the time, and their moments together would bring her extreme joy. But those times were now gone. She could only get in touch with him through letters. He just started school this year, so his writing was clumsy, but she still liked seeing him grow through the words.

Miya was supposed to go back to her native island during these vacations, but changed her mind when she learned about Nanami’s trip. She wanted to be with her friend when she would come back, and instead suggested to her family to travel to Capital Island. They were arriving next week, and her little brother sounded excited, through his letter. It would be his first time in the capital.

Back in her room, she picked out an outfit, humming to herself. Her roommate, a first-year as well, looked at her happily whistling, and asked, “Are you going somewhere, Miya?”

“Yeah. I’m going to meet with Saki and Hiroki.”

“Oh, nice! Have fun with your friends then.”

Miya nodded, and headed out. She crossed the backyard and the inner yard, before passing through the side passageways leading to the main courtyard. Waiting for Saki at the water fountain, she thought about her life at school.

She was a bit worried on her first day, because she didn’t come from the main island like most of the students here. She also heard bad rumors about noble kids who were cheeky, and overly pretentious – which was the case for most of them – but she felt relieved when she talked to Saki. Saki was sitting at a table alone, with a bored face. She wasn’t even trying to talk to the other kids around her, even though from the ornaments in her hair, Miya could tell she came from a rich family.

Miya had never been anxious about making friends, but she was feeling a little uneasy about her rough manners due to her coming from an ordinary fishing family from the countryside. But Saki didn’t seem to care about it, and talked to her normally, disregarding their different social status. Then, Nanami joined them, and things got livelier. Nanami’s wild personality reassured Miya, and from that day on, she never cared about her not being good enough to attend the academy.

Lost in her thoughts, Miya didn’t even see Saki arriving until she stood in front of her.

“Let’s go!”

❁

The sun rays entered Hiroki’s room little by little, before reaching his sleeping face and waking him up. The young boy yawned loudly, rolling over to lay on his stomach. Still half asleep, he groped for his glasses that he put above his bedhead. Once he found them, he got up, sitting on the edge of his bed, and rubbed his sleepy gold eyes. He yawned again, and put on his spectacles before stretching his arms.

Hiroki’s room looked as neat as him. Everything was organised. Piles of books were aligned niftily in his bookshelves, and his desk was squeaky clean and tidy. His favorite books were Avatar Aang’s adventures in which he defeated the self-proclaimed Phoenix King Ozai. He had read them at least a hundred times.

Hiroki was a shy boy that didn’t care about anything else apart from his books. He liked to spend time alone, reading novels. The complete opposite of his friendly, sociable older brother. However, being alone never bothered him; he didn’t need friends. He was introverted – he knew it – but it didn’t concern him in any way. He was detached from all these futile feelings such as friendship and love.

That’s what he thought until he met Nanami, Miya and Saki. He was sitting besides the group of girls, but they didn’t pay attention to him at first. He was actually bothered by their loud chatting – especially Miya. Nanami was the first one to speak to him. Hiroki thought she pitied him for having no friends, so he rebuffed her kindness coldly, but that didn’t stop the wild girl. She kept talking to him, striking up a conversation every morning as they sat next to each other.

He was not happy at all being associated with a bunch of silly girls at first. They always interrupted his reading time. However, since then Hiroki had stopped bringing a book to read at school because he now enjoyed spending time with them. Miya was the worst of the three. She could talk all day, and not get tired of it. He didn’t know how she got so much to say even though they met everyday. But apart from being chatty, she was a very nice girl.

Hiroki often bickered with Nanami and Miya because they always teased him, but he got along pretty well with Saki, who was calmer than the other two. They walked part of the way home a few times, just the two of them, as Nanami stayed to wait for her older brother, and he enjoyed talking with her. She was much more refined than the other two savages. She came from a distinguished family after all. She was really smart too; she excelled in every subject they had. Also, she was pretty cute. That thought made him blush furiously, and he shook his head vigorously to come to his senses.

He dressed quickly, and grabbed his bag. He went downstairs where his parents and his brother were already working. His family ran a grocery shop. His brother would be taking over once his parents would be too old to manage it. As the youngest, he could choose his path freely, and decided to enroll in the Royal Fire Academy because he loved studying.

He helped them a little, sorting fruits and placing them on the stalls. When it was time to go, he headed out and walked towards the park.

❁

Miya and Saki chatted happily on their way, after not seeing each other since Nanami’s departure. They rejoined Hiroki, who was already sitting on a bench in the large park, reading a book like always, and the three friends went to play in the park all day.

Chapter Text

Around the time Nanami departed for her journey, a secret meeting was taking place in the basement of a famous, high-class restaurant in the nobles’ district of Capital Island. Seated at a round table, several men and women from the wealthiest families of the Fire Nation were debating. As usual, the main topic of the conversation was Fire Lord Zuko’s way of ruling. For this group of extremists, Fire Lord Zuko’s reforms in the nation were humiliating, depriving them of all the previous privileges that Fire Lord Ozai granted to nobles of their ranks.

“We have to do something. We can’t stand here, and watch him while he strips us of all of our rights,” a man exclaims, banging his fist on the table.

“What do you propose, Dao? You’re our leader,” a woman says, turning to Magistrate Dao, Saki’s father.

“We can’t start a rebellion without a valid reason,” Dao declares mightily, sitting straight to affirm his position as a leader. “But then, I had an annoying incident a few weeks ago. The Royal Fire Academy is hiding a monster . We can use that.”

“A monster?” the woman repeated.

“A cheeky brat that has some special firebending. It seems her fire can’t be put out by water or something. I heard she nearly killed one of her classmates because she couldn’t control her power. She is a threat for our children.”

“How shall we proceed?” a man asked.

A sly smile drew on Dao’s lips. He exposed his idea to his comrades, and by the end of the day, they had meticulously planned everything for the prelude of their revolt.

❁

“We’re nearly home, Nanami,” Tenzin announced, as he caught sight of the Royal Palace in the distance.

Oogi parked in front of the Red Dragon, making the district tremble when he landed on the cobblestoned avenue. The quake attracted everybody outside, wondering what caused this ruckus. Shuu and some customers came out from the teashop, ready to face any dangers. 

“Nanami is back!” he yelled to his family, and rushed to hug his little sister who has been gone for a week. “How are you? Was everything alright?”

“Yeah! It was so fun!” Nanami told her brother excitedly.

She kept on narrating her adventure to him as they entered their home. The rest of her family was busy working, but they dropped everything on the spot to welcome the youngest back home. The regular customers also greeted Nanami, but one particular client caught her eye. He was sitting at a table alone, near the counter, looking her way. He smiled at her timidly, not daring to interrupt her reunion with her family.

“Iroh!”

The young prince stood up as she ran to him happily, a large smile on her face. Overjoyed to see him, Nanami hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Iroh didn’t expect that, and blushed to the tip of his ears. He didn’t know if he was supposed to hug her back or not, leaving his hands in mid-air.

After her excitement subsided, Nanami realized what she was doing, and pulled back from Iroh at once, her face burning up from embarrassment. 

“I’m… I’m sorry… I… Hum,” she stammered her words.

“That’s okay,” Iroh reassured her, smiling. “I’m glad to see you as well. How are you? Did you find all the answers you were looking for?”

Nanami was about to respond to him, but the door opened violently, interrupting all the conversations inside the teashop. A soldier came in, breathless, a parchment in his hands.

“Fire Lord Zuko, Avatar Aang,” he greeted them. “I have a message from Princess Izumi for you.”

He handed them the letter, and Zuko skimmed attentively through the paper. From the expressions on his face, Nanami could tell something bad happened. The Fire Lord glanced at his friend, the Avatar, and the two of them nodded.

Aang walked over to Nanami and, kneeling down, he said, “I’m very sorry Nanami. We have urgent matters to attend in Republic City. We can’t go find the Red Dragon with you. You’ll have to be patient, and wait again.”

Nanami nodded. She was used to waiting now. That was all she’s done since starting firebending. Aang and Zuko bid farewell to Nanami’s family and stormed out of the teashop.

The conversations resumed in the room, and Nanami sat down with Iroh. The two of them talked throughout the meal, and left the Red Dragon to visit Hiroki, Miya and Saki. Once all reunited, Iroh left and headed back to the Royal Palace, leaving the other four alone. They had so much to tell each other, and although they all begged him to stay, he didn’t want to impose.

At night, Nanami received her sister’s visit in her room. The two sisters sat on Nanami’s bed, leaning against the wall.

“You know, Prince Iroh has been coming to the shop everyday since you left,” Manami told her little sister.

Nanami raised a brow. Why would Iroh come to the shop? 

“He’s so cute,” Manami continued, a smile on her lips. “We talked a lot, and he’s a nice boy.”

Nanami’s eyes widened. Was Iroh interested in her sister, so he came to see her? She felt a slight pain in her chest. Manami is beautiful like Mom, so of course he would like her…

“Oh, is that so,” she mumbled.

Manami glanced at her little sister. Her face showed obvious disappointment, which made her chuckle. “Haha, don’t be so sad, Nanami! He was waiting for you ,” she explained. “We didn’t know when you were coming back, so he just waited everyday to be sure not to miss you.”

Nanami’s cheeks turned pink, and her heart felt lighter. The two sisters continued to chat until their mother stormed in the room, scolding them harshly about the time. Manami headed back to her own room. Nanami laid down, and thinking one last time about Iroh, she closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep, with a smile on her lips.

❁

The next day, Nanami woke up early. She didn’t know when she’d be able to meet the Red Dragon, but she knew that exams were coming in a month. She wasn’t a bad student per say, but studying was not her favorite. Sitting at a desk for several hours, reading books wasn’t her strong point. Nanami was a smart girl, but as someone who never opened her books at home, there was no way she could succeed. 

She just came back from a fantastic trip yesterday, so she was still a little overexcited. Her mind wasn’t focusing on her studies, so she decided to go to the school library, and study diligently, alone – Miya had her family coming over, Saki was studying at home with private tutors, and Hiroki was at home, but he didn’t really like group study.

Nanami strolled on her way to the Royal Fire Academy, halting her walk from time to time to enjoy the landscape she hadn’t seen for a week. The library was almost empty during vacations. Only a few students were present, and just like Nanami, they were preparing for the mid-term exams. 

Nanami made her way through the rows of bookshelves, looking for a quiet place, and finally settled in a corner of the library, near a window that overlooked the inner yard. She took her books out of her backpack, and lined them up on the table. She stayed still for a few minutes, not knowing which subject to start with. She didn’t like any of them.

“Nanami?”

The little girl turned around, and a grin drew on her lips, lighting up her face. Iroh was standing a few steps away. He was looking for a book on the shelf near her. The young prince grabbed the book, and sat down in front of her.

“Did you come to study too? Do you want to work together?” he offered, flashing her a smile.

“Oh, yes! Thanks, Iroh.”

The two of them spent the rest of the morning studying quietly in the library, and parted at lunch. But, they promised to meet again tomorrow, at the same time to resume where they stopped. 

After a week of tutoring, Nanami felt some improvement in her studies. Iroh was a really good teacher, and they went through everything she didn’t understand. However, he couldn’t come this week, so she had to carry on alone. But without her friend, Nanami didn’t feel like studying anymore.

School was starting again in two weeks, and Nanami was tired of waiting for Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko to come back. She wanted to meet Tai Long, the Red Dragon. 

I can’t wait for them forever. I don’t want to. This is something I need to do now. I have to find the Red Dragon!

She was staring at the ceiling in her bedroom, thinking about ways to go to Shen Dao, the island where Tai Long had been living on. She got up suddenly, her eyes wide.

Can this work? she thought. I think it’s worth giving it a try!

Nanami put on her uniform quickly, and headed for the kitchen in a flash. She talked to her family, making her explanations short and fast. Akemi opposed her daughter’s idea vehemently, but Kouichi stopped his wife, supporting Nanami’s choice.

“Go for it, sweetie!” he said, after getting Akemi’s reluctant approval.

Nanami nodded, thanking everyone, and stormed out of the place. She visited Hiroki and Saki, asking them to come with her. The three of them picked Miya up on their way to the teachers’ office.

Toh was on call during summer’s vacations. He heard loud steps from the corridor, coming closer. The door opened with force, and four kids walked in, marching resolutely.

“Professor Toh!” Nanami called out to him. “I have something important to ask you and Headmaster Kaito.”

“What are you doing here? You should be studying if you have free time,” Toh commented, frowning. He had a bad feeling about her sudden visit. Nanami was always trouble anyway.

“Could you please inform Avatar Aang that we’ll go find the Red Dragon by ourselves?” she declared, grinning innocently from ear to ear.

Toh’s pen dropped on his desk, rolling over until it crashed on the floor. His eyes opened wide in astonishment, and mouth agape, he hollered, “What did you just say?”

Chapter Text

“Hiiiiiii kids!” 

Nanami looked up at the weird man neighing and waving to them. He was wriggling all over the place, dancing on the bow of a massive ship that just docked at Capital Island’s harbour. 

The stranger jumped off the boat, not taking the gangway, and landed heavily on the paved ground of the docks. Nanami observed him from head to toes. He seemed to be around Master Tenzin’s age – maybe a little bit older – with a messy hairstyle and a goat beard. He was wearing a red jacket with golden trimmings and white trousers, as well as a black belt wrapped around his waist. The outfit is completed by a pair of high, light brown boots.

“Hello, little lady,” he greeted her. “I’m Captain Bumi of the United Forces. I have been appointed as your guide in your search for the Red Dragon!”

“You’re Master Tenzin’s brother?”

“Yes, I’m his big brother,” he answered, with a broad smile. “So, are you all ready to depart, cadets? But first, introductions! Line up here, and one by one, state your name!” he commanded, pointing to a free spot nearby.

“Nanami”, “Hiroki”, “Miya”, and “Saki” could be heard in turn on the busy pier. Bumi nodded each time, and standing in front of the last crew member, he asked, “What about you, buddy?”

“My name is Iroh, Captain,” the young prince introduced himself, standing straight. 

Nanami looked his way. Iroh’s eyes were sparkling from excitement. She chuckled discreetly, and smiled from seeing him so happy.

“Okay, now that the presentations are done, let’s go!” Bumi shouted, motioning for them to follow him, and they all boarded the United Forces Navy Second Division’s ship. 

Nanami stepped on the gangway with determination. She turned back to look one last time at the harbour. A new journey had begun for her. I’m going to find Tai Long, the Red Dragon!

It was the first time for either of the children to step on a military ship. They were all amazed, and were glancing around, scrutinizing every corner with their eyes eagerly. The boat was made of steel, and cannons with the Fire Nation’s emblem painted on them could be found on the deck. The machines were huge, and Nanami, Miya, Hiroki, Saki and Iroh stayed breathless in front of this military gunnery. 

Bumi guided them to their cabins. One cabin could fit up to four persons, with two bunk beds on either side of the room. Nanami, Miya, Saki and Hiroki were sharing a room, while Iroh was going to share a room with the United Forces crew. Bumi took Iroh to his cabin, leaving the other four in theirs. They observed enthusiastically their new home, and started unpacking.

“I was so surprised that Headmaster Kaito actually accepted that we go on this journey!” Saki said, putting her bag on her bed. She took the bottom bed on the left side of the cabin. 

“Right? He even contacted Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko to prepare everything,” Hiroki added, sitting on the bottom bed on the other side.

“Toh’s face though,” Miya laughed, climbing on the bed above Saki. “I thought his head was gonna explode from anger.” The four friends guffawed merrily, making fun of their teacher without any bad thoughts.

“I’m glad you could all come with me. Thanks everyone,” Nanami declared, serious all of a sudden. They all looked up at her, sitting on the bed above Hiroki. She was smiling, but it wasn’t her usual cheerful expression; it was a bit solemn. “Especially you, Saki. Fortunately your parents ended up accepting.”

“Yeah…,” Saki replied, looking away not to make eye contact with her friends. “Actually,” she began, “No, nevermind.” She shook her head, making her friends frown, a wondering look on their faces.

Nanami was about to ask her, but someone knocked softly at the door, interrupting their conversation. “Captain Bumi is calling us,” Iroh said, half-opening the door, and poking his head through the doorway. “He’s waiting in the cockpit.”

The five young children walked along the labyrinth of corridors of the ship, heading towards the control room where Bumi and his crew were waiting. The cockpit room was spacious, filled with a bunch of machines that controlled the boat. Many operators were sitting in front of their assigned station, working diligently. 

Bumi was standing in the center of the room, hiding a large, square table behind him. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. He was holding a rolled paper – probably a map – in his left hand.

“Okay, kids,” he began, “let’s plan the mission!” He gestured for them to come closer, and they stood in a circle around the table. “So, where is your dragon’s island located?” he asked Nanami, unfolding the map on the table. He stroked it to flatten the paper, then waited for her to speak.

The young girl leaned down, staring hard at the map. Her eyes scanned speedily the sketch of the world, and she pointed at a spot, lost in the middle of the sea. “Here,” she declared confidently.

Bumi frowned. “But there’s nothing here, little princess. Are you sure?”

“Yes, Captain Bumi!” she assured, a resolute look on her face. She drew imaginary lines on the map with her finger, and explained the reasoning. “Imagine a line segment going from the Sun Warriors’ island to Capital Island. Take the midpoint of it, then imagine another line perpendicular to that segment and passing through the midpoint. The Masters told me that Shen Dao – Tai Long’s island – is located at the intersection of that line, and the line going from Fire Fountain City to Capital City.”

“Wow, that’s so complicated,” Bumi stated, scratching his head. “Okay, then let’s head towards this direction!”

“They also said that the dragon had hidden his island,” Nanami added, recalling her conversation with the dragons. “So, we won’t be able to see it.”

“So we’re looking for a ghost island? Spirits! This mission is getting crazier and crazier by each minute passing.” Bumi turned to his crew, and taking a megaphone, he commanded, “Heading north, mates!”

“How long will it take to get there, Captain?” Hiroki asked.

“Jin! Our new recruit is asking how long it’ll take,” Bumi called one of the operators. “Jin is an engineer. His job is to calculate the time, and also to plan the route we’ll take.”

Bumi explained to his special crew that there weren’t only soldiers on a military ship. They also needed engineers and mechanicians to manage all the machinery on the boat, and ensure its maintenance. The kids listened to him attentively, especially Hiroki who seemed to be very interested. “Every man to his trade,” the captain concluded his explanations.

“So you don’t have to become a soldier to work on a ship,” Hiroki muttered to himself.

“Wow. Not at all what I imagined!” Miya declared.

“Yeah,” Saki agreed. “I didn't know about all the other jobs besides being a soldier. It sounds very interesting.”

“Let’s visit the ship, kids! I’ll tell you every secret of the United Forces Second Division’s boat!” Bumi suggested.

He led them to each room of the ship, interrupting the workers in the middle of their jobs, so they could explain what they were doing. They interviewed the engineers in the cockpit room first, then headed to the maintenance room  where mechanicians were monitoring piping meters. They also stopped by the kitchen where the very kind cook gave them delicious snacks.

“These are the portholes where Waterbenders go through to access the gangway, and bend water during battles.” Bumi pointed at large portholes cut in the hull of the ship, painted with the Water Tribes’ symbol on the door. He opened one of them, and let the kids look. A short gangway was suspended outside. It was hung down vertically since it wasn’t in use. 

After visiting the inside of the boat, they stepped outside, on the deck. Bumi continued to present the Firebenders’ cannons. They all listened to him quietly, asking questions from time to time – especially Iroh who seemed to be very interested. The captain was a very funny man. He would always tell them anecdotes about his previous missions, and he was hilarious.

Nanami observed him carefully. He got pale blue eyes, with a slightly dark skin color. He looked like Avatar Aang a little bit, even if his little brother resembled his father more. Captain Bumi and Master Tenzin were totally different. The first one was laid-back and very talkative, while the latter was more serious, and reserved. However, they were both very nice.

After the visit, Bumi let the kids roam around the boat freely to explore by themselves. Delighted to receive new guests, the cook went all out on the food, and prepared a feast for dinner: chicken, beef, duck, pork, all kinds of meats, as well as a wide variety of vegetables that they had never even heard of. The meal was extremely lively, and everybody ate too much, filling their stomachs to the brim with delicious dishes. The crew went to sleep reluctantly on the orders of the vice-captain – Bumi was over excited and didn’t want to stop partying.

Nanami and her friends went back to their respective cabins, and settled in their beds. The boat rocked slightly, cradling them gradually in a deep sleep.

❁

“Captain Bumi!” Jin called, running to them hastily the next day. He stopped in front of his commandant officer, and caught his breath. “I’m sorry, I’m not used to exercising. I prefer sitting in front of my machines,” he said to the kids, laughing a little.

“What is it Jin? Any problems?”

“No, sir! I came to announce that we have arrived.”

The whole crew looked around, searching for an island, but all they could see was a vast body of water. “Arrived?” Bumi repeated. “But there’s nothing here.”

Chapter Text

Prince Iroh woke up a little bit later than usual. He had just spent his first night on a military boat. At first, the loud snores of his roommates prevented him from falling asleep, but he eventually got used to it, and closing his eyes, he fell into the arms of Morpheus. The rocking of the boat didn’t bother him at all, and he had a good sleep. He even had a very pleasant dream, which made him sleep in longer.

When he opened his eyes, the three other beds were neatly tidied, and no one was there. Iroh got up slowly, and headed out of the cabin. He walked towards the dining room, and as soon as he stepped in, a voice called out to him.

“Iroh!” Bumi called him. “Come sit with us,” he said, motioning for him to take a seat with them.

Iroh sat down next to Captain Bumi, and one of the crew members pushed a plate full of bread towards him. The little boy timidly took one loaf of bread, intimidated by all the adults surrounding him, and ate it in the very elegant way he had been taught at the Royal Palace. The others stared at him intensely, and teased him gently on his table manners. The young prince’s cheeks turned red, feeling bashful from their comments, but not uncomfortable as they didn’t mean any harm. 

“Don’t be so stiff,” Bumi told him, friendly patting his back. “Enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of this ship!”

Iroh smiled at them, relieved they were all so nice with a child like him. The Second Division was indeed very relaxed, and even though he was the Captain, Bumi never acted authoritative and spoke with his crew normally. Avatar Aang’s oldest son was very easy to talk to, and that reassured the young prince who had so many questions about the United Forces. More comfortable, Iroh could ask everything to the people seated at his table, and everyone kindly answered him, even encouraging him to join the United Forces in the future. 

Iroh spent the rest of his morning with Captain Bumi, and after lunch, he went to the deck alone, staring at the vast ocean.

“It’s nice to travel on a boat, right?” a female voice stated timidly.

The young prince turned his head, as he didn’t recognise the voice, and a shy smile appeared on his face when he saw a black-haired girl, sophisticatedly dressed, standing a few meters away. Her long, glossy hair was tied in a top knot – traditional Fire Nation hairstyle – and decorated with a fancy hairpin that represented a phoenix’ wings.

She walked towards him, closing the distance between them, and leant on the gunwale, next to him. Iroh stared at her while she was trying to shake off the hair covering her face because of the wind. Her long, slender fingers brushed her cheeks, and brought the rebellious strands of hair behind her pierced ears, ornamented with shining amber stones.

Standing from afar, Hiroki was looking fixedly at the pair blissfully talking. A large scowl was drawn on his face, and after a few minutes, he heaved a heavy sigh.

“What’s wrong Hiroki?” a female voice asked him loudly from behind. 

He turned to face a young dark brown haired girl. She was wearing simple clothes which consisted of a plain, dark red t-shirt with same colored pants and a long sleeveless jacket with gold trims – nothing really fancy. Her hair was usually tied in a top knot to abide by the school’s regulations. However, on this ship, no specific hairstyle was imposed, so she just tied it in a high ponytail that seemed a little messy with all the flyaways poking out.

She looked in the same direction as Hiroki, and her gaze fell upon Iroh and the girl standing side by side. She could feel her chest tighten at this sight, but she didn’t pay much attention to it.

“Nanami,” Hiroki whispered. “Nothing. I was just wondering when Saki and the Prince became so close.”

Nanami looked back at Hiroki, and shrugged. “Isn’t it normal since Saki’s family is pretty close with the Fire Lord?”

"I don't know… Did her parents have something to do with her being so friendly with the prince so suddenly?"

“You’re overthinking it.” Nanami friendly slapped her friend’s back, making him shake from the shock and almost drop his glasses. “I didn’t know you liked Saki though,” she added, a large grin on her lips.

Hiroki blushed furiously, mumbling incomprehensive words to deny it, but Nanami saw right through him, and that made him so embarrassed. The young girl bursted out laughing heartily, her laugh so loud that Miya came running. The latter never missed an occasion to tease Hiroki, and joined Nanami’s laughter. 

Miya and Nanami’s neighs reached Saki’s ears, and she stared at her two friends bent over with laughter, while Hiroki’s face was as red as a tomato. “They teased him again,” she sighed, running over to scold the two girls.

Iroh watched her walk away, and he directed his gaze to Nanami, who was wiping the tears running down her cheeks. She smiled at him as soon as their eyes met, and trotted happily towards him. 

“Hey there, little Iroh,” she greeted him.

Iroh couldn’t help but smile, seeing her so familiar with him. When he was talking to Saki earlier, she was a little bit distant, but Nanami treated him the same as she did with her friends. That’s what he liked the most about her.

“What were you talking about with Saki?” she asked, leaning on the gunwale too. 

Seagulls were singing above them, accompanying the sound of the waves which slammed on the hull of the boat.

Iroh stretched his arms to relax his muscles. “Nothing in particular,” he replied. “Just small talk.”

“Is that so?” Nanami turned to him. “We didn’t see you during the morning. Were you accompanying Captain Bumi? You seem to really enjoy this trip. I’m glad. I was so surprised when you came to the shop, telling me you wanted to join the expedition.”

The prince smiled at her, his cheeks turning slightly pink. “I… Well… I wanted to come with you,” he stuttered. He was fidgeting, his hands behind his back. When he heard about it, Iroh ran straight to her family’s shop, not even consulting his mother beforehand. “I thought it could be fun to go together.”

“Of course! That was a great idea. I’m glad you’re here, Iroh.” A large grin drew on Nanami’s lips. She was about to add something else, but Iroh’s face slowly faded under a thick veil. 

Fog started to envelop the ship, and gradually surrounded them, making it hard to even discern each other on the deck. Everybody froze, trying to peer through the dense haze. An uneasy silence fell upon the Second Division’s ship. Bumi called the kids to come closer to him, so he could watch over them. They moved over cautiously, feeling around so as not to bump into someone.

“We have arrived, sir,” Jin announced. 

“We can’t see anything with this fog,” Bumi grumbled, while cursing the bad weather.

“What do we do now Captain?”

Bumi stroked his brown beard. They were lost in the middle of the sea, stuck into a thick fog. There wasn’t enough visibility to sail safely anymore. The fog grew thicker and thicker, and humidity soaked up on their clothes, spreading a feeling of cold. The situation didn’t look too good for them.

“Captain Bumi!” Iroh called him, his voice marked with panic. “Nanami fainted!”

Bumi turned around abruptly, looking for the young girl who was lying on the ground. Luckily, Iroh was standing besides her, and caught her before she fell.

“I’m cold,” she whispered. She wasn’t unconscious yet, but her hands were icy. She was shivering, her teeth chattering from the dump, cold fog. Iroh tightened his embrace, trying to warm his friend, while Miya, Saki and Hiroki tried to use their firebending, but their flames weren’t big enough because of humidity.

“Bring covers to warm her up!” Bumi commanded. “Quick!”

Nanami felt her heart beat slower and slower, and her friends’ voices sounded far away. It was hard for her to keep her eyes open, and she couldn’t move her body as it was too tense. She could see the crew run around, probably trying to help her. She wanted to tell them not to worry about her, but her voice wouldn’t come out. She felt really tired and cold. In her last effort, she managed to smile at Iroh, whose face was covered by panic, then closed her eyes.

❁

“Nanami! Nanami!”

Nanami heard voices calling her name repetitively, but her eyelids felt so heavy she couldn’t open her eyes. After struggling, she finally managed to do it, but the little girl was surprised to wake up in the dark. The calls had ceased, leaving room for silence to settle. A dim point of light suddenly appeared out of nowhere, far away from her. She got up and walked slowly towards it. Once close enough, she could discern a flame dancing in the air. Nanami reached out her hands to touch it, and as soon as her fingers brushed the fire, a deep voice she didn’t recognize resonated.

“Who dares to disturb my eternal sleep?” the voice growled as the flame intensified under her eyes.

Chapter Text

"Nanami! Nanami!"

Nanami opened her eyes wide at once. She was lying on her back, on a hard ground. Not moving an inch, she glanced, with rapid eye movements, in all directions to figure out where she was. However nothing but darkness surrounded her.

Where am I? Why is it so dark? Where are the others?

She sat up cautiously, and tried calling for her friends, but only her own voice echoed in the space.

What in the world happened? We were caught in the fog, and then I don't remember anything else after that.

Nanami wasn't a fearful person, but those creepy situations made her panic a lot. Her heart started beating faster, and more loudly in her chest. She tried to breathe slowly to calm down, as she got used to stressful situations lately.

Calm down, Nanami... First, let's do something about the dark. You're a firebender now: make some fire!

Nanami joined her hands, side by side, and firebended to make a flame in the palm of her hands. However, nothing appeared, leaving the little girl alone in darkness. She tried repetitively, but no flame ever came out.

What the -? Why doesn't it work? Did I lose my firebending or something? Pff... Why can't I firebend when I need it the most?

Nanami grumbled to herself while blindly walking towards an unknown direction. She tried feeling around her, hoping to find a wall to lead her way, but the space seemed empty.

Am I alone here? Where is this place anyway? It's so dark, I can't see anything.

"Hello. Anyone here?" she shouted. "Helloooooo," she kept on calling.

As her voice echoed, a dim point of light suddenly appeared behind her, a bit further away. She turned around, and squinted her eyes to analyze the source of light.

Light? So, someone's here!

Relieved not to be completely blind anymore, Nanami rushed towards the light, and stopped right in front of it. When she got closer, she could discern that the source of light was a flame, floating in the air.

What's this?

Intrigued by this unusual fire, Nanami extended her hand to touch the flame, unconsciously thinking she couldn't be burnt by it. However, she felt a sharp pain as soon as her fingertips brushed the fire, and took out her hand immediately. She didn't get enough time to worry about her burn as a rumbling sound resonated, and the ground under her feet shook from light vibrations.

"Who dares to disturb my eternal sleep?" a deep voice growled.

The flame got bigger, illuminating more space around the little girl. Nanami stared at the fire, in surprise, then turned her head in all directions, searching for the originator of that scary voice. But, under the light of the fire, she could see no one else.

"Who's there?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. No one answered. "Is there someone here? Show yourself."

"How dare you give me orders, impudent human," the voice growled again, in a rage, making the ground shake more vigorously this time. The shaking made Nanami stagger, and she had to try her best to keep her balance without any support.

As the voice grew stronger, many other small flames appeared, and, little by little surrounded the young girl. Circled around by fire, Nanami felt uneasy and oppressed. Her heart started beating faster, and droplets of sweat ran down her worried face. She looked in every direction, trying to find a way to escape, but the separate flames grew bigger to form a ring, leaving no space for her to get away.

"I'm sorry," Nanami apologized. "I... I didn't mean to be rude. I just want to see you." She cleared her throat, and continued, as calmly as possible, "My name is Nanami. I came here to find Tai Long, the Red Dragon. Masters Ran and Shaw told me to come to his island, but we got caught in a thick fog. I don't remember anything after that, but when I woke up, I ended up here, in the dark, separated from my friends."

The rumbling sounds faded little by little, and a heavy silence fell upon her again. Still surrounded by the ring of fire, Nanami wasn't safe yet and had to keep her guard up. She nervously waited for the voice to speak again, sweat still running down her temples.

"How do you know about Tai Long, little girl?" the voice asked, with a less angry tone.

"My grandma told me about him," Nanami began timidly. Then, with a more assured tone, she added, "Her ancestors, well, our ancestors, came to Shen Dao island after fleeing from the Capital City. They built a village, Tizon Village, at the foot of a volcano, and discovered that a dragon was actually living in the volcano. That dragon's name was Tai Long, known as the Red Dragon. He became the protector of Shen Dao island and its inhabitants. But one day, the Fire Nation came to kill Tai Long. Sadly, many people died during this fight, and Tai Long disappeared after that." She paused a little after a long speech, and continued, "My grandma's grandfather was a kid from a family that had survived the fight, and that had come back to the main island."

The voice listened to Nanami silently, and kept quiet after she finished her explanations. Nanami wasn't a patient person, and seeing the voice not manifesting themselves, she decided to speak first. "Who are you? Do you know Tai Long?"

"I'm the one asking questions, little girl!" the voice growled, making the ground shake again. "So you are a descendant from the people of Tizon Village... Why do you want to meet Tai Long? What do you want with him?"

"I... My firebending is kind of different from other people. My grandma said it is similar to Tai Long's powers. I hope he can answer all my questions when I meet him."

"You are a firebender!?" the voice rumbled furiously. The ground shook again, more intensely, and started to crumble under Nanami's feet, revealing crevices filled with lava. "No firebender is allowed on this island! You will pay for what you did!"

"No, wait, please!" Nanami tried to step on the safe parts of the crumbled ground, but she was still trapped in the fire ring, and didn't have much space to move around and dodge the cracks. "I didn't come to hurt Tai Long or anything. I just want to talk to him."

"You will meet your end here, firebender!"

Chapter Text

“You will meet your end here, firebender!” The threatening growl reverberated, deep and resonant. “No firebender deserves to live.”

The ground crumbled more and more under Nanami’s feet, revealing raging waves of bright, yellow lava. Nanami tried to talk to the voice, but it wouldn’t listen to her, and unleashed its furry on the poor, terrorized little girl. The ring of fire that encircled her tightened bit by bit, leaving her with less and less space to move and dodge the cracks on the ground. Soon enough, Nanami started to feel the warmth of the fire around her arms, brushing slightly her bare skin. The pain she felt when she touched the first little flame earlier still remained in her mind, and made her hesitant to touch the circle of fire surrounding her. Nanami tried to come up with a plan, but thinking about tactics had never been her thing. With a sigh, she gave up and reached out toward the burning loop. The flames touched her skin – yet somehow, she didn’t feel a thing. Instead, just like that one time in the school’s infirmary, golden lines began to appear along her blood vessels, rapidly covering both of her arms.

“What is that?” All the noisy rumble stopped at once. “What is happening? How could that be? No, it’s impossible,” the voice continued to have a monologue, asking itself questions, then answering, completely baffled by the situation. “Who are you?” it shouted at Nanami. “Is it because you’re a descendant of the villagers? But why a firebender? I cannot accept that!”

When the rumble stopped, the ground remodeled itself back to a flat, stoned floor. All the flames extinguished at once, releasing Nanami from her prison. The little girl sighed from relief, and dropped heavily on the floor, her knees weak. She felt so exhausted she couldn’t comprehend the mysterious’ voice’s shouts. She could only hear buzzy noise, but none of the questions got through her. The yelling got louder and louder, making her head ache. She started to feel dizzy, her heartbeat slowing down, and she could sense her energy leaving her. Nanami started to have trouble keeping her eyes open. In a last deep breath, the firebender closed her eyes, focusing on the warmth coming from inside of her body. She could feel something boiling in the pit of her stomach like a ball of fire dancing in her belly. She tried to concentrate, using all of her senses to put that inner burst of energy under control, remembering everything her teachers taught her since she discovered her capabilities.

After long minutes, during which the voice continued to rumble on its own, Nanami finally channeled the energy from her center core to the rest of her body, regaining strength back in her members. Shining, golden lines running through her small body, she opened her eyes at once, which looked like a pair of glowing, amber stones, and stoop up. She spoke in an assured voice, “I don’t want you any harm. I’ve come to meet Tai Long, please let me meet him.”

“Arrogant brat, are you threatening me?” the voice growled once again.

A stream of fire popped out from nowhere, targeting the little firebender, but Nanami could sense it before it reached her and parried the attack by creating a blazing shield. The two fires clashed, and finally extinguished after a few seconds. Nanami moved her hands swiftly in a motion and built a burning cocoon, wrapping around her body, to protect herself from other potential attacks.

“Please listen to me,” she implored. “I don’t want to hurt you; I just want to meet Tai Long to ask him questions.” Maintaining the protective shell quickly drained her energy. Nanami could feel her strength slipping away with every passing second. What a stubborn voice. Why wouldn’t it let me meet Tai Long? I can’t hold that barrier much longer.

Lava bubbled in the cracks, spitting out sparks that hissed against her fire shield. Seeing her keep up with its attacks irritated the voice, and it unleashed a salvo of blazing blasts to end the fight. An onslaught of incandescent light poured down from above, straining Nanami’s barrier to the breaking point. After a few seconds, the shield fractured with a sharp crack, then shattered – sizzling fire erupting from it and fading, fragment by fragment. Exhausted, Nanami finally collapsed onto the cracked ground. Her chest heaved as she gasped for air, her heart pounding painfully from the effort.

“Is that all you’ve got, firebender?” the voice laughed, dripping with disdain. “Pathetic. You’re not even worthy of meeting Tai Long.”

Her eyes were barely open, their amber glow faded to ash. The magma writhed below, inching toward her face. Fire still poured from the sky, scorching every place it touched her broken body. “Please,” she whispered on a breath. “I just want to understand my firebending… and go back to my friends.”

“Friends? So there are more firebenders outside?” That news enraged the voice even further, and the fiery sludge thrashed more violently. “I’ll deal with them. They won’t return.”

Then, all rumbling abruptly ceased. The ground rebuilt itself in the blink of an eye, and the rain of fire vanished. The girl, still lying on the ground, used her last spurt of energy to push herself up. Nanami leaned on her arms, scanning the room — only to see nothing but darkness. Suddenly, distant screams filled her mind. The frantic sounds of people yelling and running echoed through the haze in her thoughts, but she couldn’t make out who they were or what was happening.

“Everyone, get below deck! Something’s attacking us — something we can’t see!”

Deck? At first, the voices felt strange — like a confusing storm swirling in her exhausted mind. Straining to focus, she caught the hiss of something burning. Fire? Is something on fire? Still trying to make sense of it all, a voice pierced through the haze — calling her name, searching for her. A young boy’s voice. Iroh! she screamed inside her head. Slowly, a sharp pang of recognition hit her — those were her friends, trapped and in danger on the burning ship.

“Stop,” Nanami finally screamed, her voice raw but determined. The sudden realization sparked a fierce fire inside her, fighting back the crushing exhaustion. “They didn’t do anything. Why are you attacking them?” She gritted her teeth, struggling to stay on her shaky legs.

“All firebenders want is destruction, so I’m just giving them a taste of their own medicine,” the voice retorted coldly.

“Then you’re no different from Sozin. Just as cruel.” Her fists clenched despite her trembling limbs. “Attacking innocent people.” She swayed but refused to fall, every breath a battle against the weariness threatening to drag her down. Her amber eyes burned fiercely, wide and unyielding, shining with a mixture of defiance and desperation — a silent vow that she wouldn’t let this injustice stand. 

Nanami kept reasoning with the voice, but nothing could sway its resolve. Growing tired of her endless protests, the voice made the ground tremble beneath her again—molten rocks bubbled and hissed violently, glowing a fierce orange-red that cast flickering shadows across her trembling legs. The heat was unbearable, waves of searing air rippling upward, distorting the smoky darkness around her. The acrid smell of burning sulfur and scorched earth filled her nostrils, making it hard to breathe. Her skin prickled painfully from the intense heat, and tiny beads of sweat stung her eyes as they traced down her temples.

“Shut up, and listen to your filthy friends perish in the flames you all adore.” The voice stopped speaking to her, turning all its attention toward the attack on the United Forces’ ship.

She could still hear Iroh’s voice—faint but insistent. He was still calling her name. Other voices shouted at him to take cover, to get below deck, but he didn’t listen. He kept searching. He sounded panicked… and exhausted, likely from dodging the onslaught.

“Hm? That boy,” the heartless voice murmured, suddenly intrigued. “That style of firebending… it’s the royal form. He’s a descendant of that damned Sozin.” A low growl rumbled through the chamber, and the ground trembled beneath her. “Then he will pay — with his life.”

Nanami froze. Her breath caught in her throat. The heat, the smoke, the screams — all of it blurred into a single, suffocating moment. Her limbs felt heavy, her mind blank. Only one thought cut through the noise, sharp and unbearable. 

He’s going to kill Iroh.

Panic began to take hold of her. Sweat ran in hot lines down her temples. Her heartbeat quickened, pounding in her chest like a drum of war at the thought of losing Iroh. A flood of memories surged through her mind — quiet moments, shared laughter, his kindness. Then, his smiling face appeared… only to shatter like glass before her eyes.

No.

She couldn’t let that cruel, stubborn voice take him away. She couldn’t lose him. Not him. Not anyone on that ship. They were all dear to her. And this — all of this — was her fault. She was the one who insisted on coming. The one who wanted to meet the so-called Red Dragon, Tai Long. Everything had started because of her strange, unruly firebending.

“Take it back,” she growled through clenched teeth.

Everything around her went still. The crackling lava quieted. Silence dropped over the room like a curtain.

“Take what back, brat?” the voice spat, amused. “What could I possibly have given you?”

Nanami snapped.

“Your cursed firebending! I don’t want it.” Her voice cracked with fury, her eyes shining with tears she could no longer hold back. “Because of it, my friends are in danger. Because of you, they’re the ones paying the price.” Nanami raised her trembling hands, fire sparking at her fingertips. “Take it back! I don’t need it — not if it’s going to hurt them!”

“Take back your firebending?” the voice spat, laughter dripping with venom. “You’re not worthy of it — never were.” It snarled. “Twisted, weak, useless people like you don’t deserve power. You can’t even control it.” It paused, then resumed in an even more contemptuous tone. “I don’t know why you have it, but it’s a mistake. Don’t flatter yourself. You’re nothing.”

The voice resumed its assault, unleashing bursts of fire from every direction. Droplets of boiling magma sprayed into the air, swirling and merging into blazing fireballs the size of an adult’s fist. The relentless barrage had gone on long enough — it was time to finish this.

In a furious state, Nanami easily parried every attack, swatting them away with the back of her hand. Golden lines traced along her veins, glowing vividly beneath her skin. With a sudden swirl of fire, she lifted herself off the ground, hovering slightly above it. She was burning with rage. Who was that voice? What a sickening, twisted thing.

“Just because you’ve tasted pain and grief doesn’t give you the right to hurt others the same way,” she shouted. “Especially not innocent people.” Her voice rang out fierce and clear.

“You’re no better than the ones you despise. I won’t let your madness harm anyone. I will defeat you.”

“Ha! You? Defeat me?” the voice erupted into cruel laughter. “Let’s see what you’re really made of, firebender.”

The onslaught intensified. The fight grew so fierce the air around them felt like a scorching furnace. Nanami unleashed every technique she had learned — from school lessons, Chi training, and the teachings of Masters Ran and Shaw. She refused to back down, her determination burning as fiercely as her fire.

Seeing she could hold her ground, the voice gathered every ounce of elemental energy in the room, condensed it into a single massive fireball, and hurled it straight at her. The blast was immense. A roaring inferno surged toward Nanami, swallowing the air in its path. She couldn't dodge. She wouldn’t. To step aside would be to run. To run would be to abandon them. Her friends. The ones still fighting, still hoping. She planted her feet. Raised her hands. And braced for the fire.

As soon as it brushed her fingertips, the impact sent her flying backward through the air — but she caught herself mid-flight, holding steady against the force pressing down on her. She tried to push it back. But it was massive. Heavy. Unmoving. Iroh’s voice echoed in her mind, a lifeline in the chaos. It gave her the strength to face the raging fire. With a scream, Nanami poured every last drop of energy into pushing the inferno away. But her strength was fading fast. The fireball began to engulf her, wrapping around her like a cloak of flame. The heat was unbearable. Her skin blistered where the fire touched it. She had nothing left. The fire was closing in. She was about to be swallowed whole.

I’m sorry, guys. I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. But I’ll at least try to keep its attention long enough for you to escape. I’m sorry, Iroh… I wish we had more time together.

A single tear slipped from her eye as she hurled herself into the blazing fire.

“Idiot,” the voice sneered. “You were weak in the end. You couldn’t protect your so-called friends. You just threw yourself into your own death.”

But before it could continue its scornful rumble, the fireball began to unravel — fragment by fragment — until it burst into a storm of swirling flame. At the heart of the vortex stood Nanami, eyes closed, motionless. A glowing sigil — the head of a dragon — formed on her upper body, pulsing with golden light. It drank in the fire around her, absorbing its fury. The golden lines already etched into her skin flared brighter, radiant against the dark. And when she opened her eyes, they blazed like twin suns, cutting through the shadows.

Behind her, a halo of fire began to form — not wild or destructive, but focused, alive, orbiting her like a crown of flame. Floating in the air, arms outstretched and angled downward, she drew in every remaining trace of elemental energy into her hands. Once all of it had gathered, she slowly closed her fists — and in an instant, the flames vanished. All that remained was the dragon sigil, glowing on her chest like a quiet warning.

She descended gently to the ground.

“It’s over now,” she said, her eyes still shining. “Let them go.”

The voice remained silent for what felt like an eternity. Then, at last, it spoke — and for the first time, its tone was soft.

“Little girl,” it said.

She froze. The voice, once so cold and menacing, now sounded... gentle. Almost kind.

“Please, allow me to introduce myself,” it continued. “I am Tai Long, the Red Dragon. The one you’ve been searching for.”

The words hit her like a stone dropped into still water.

Tai Long? How could that be? In her grandmother’s stories, Tai Long was wise and compassionate. Not cruel. Not someone who would hurt her friends.

“I’m sorry for my behavior,” Tai Long said. “What you heard — your friends being attacked — was only an illusion. A trial. I needed to know if you were ready to meet me.”

At that, her legs gave way. She dropped to her knees, the weight of relief crashing over her. Her friends were safe. The danger was gone.

And for the first time since the fire began, she let herself cry — not as a warrior, but as the eleven-year-old girl she truly was. The dragon sigil on her chest dimmed. The golden lines faded.

“Sozin’s line burned the world,” Tai Long went on. “But today, you burned the chain. I will not turn away from that.”

Heavy footsteps echoed through the cave as the ground trembled beneath her. She looked up. A majestic red dragon stepped out from the shadows. Its scales shimmered like embers. Towering, regal — and yet, it bowed its head to her.

Its eyes, bright amber — the same color as hers — locked onto her gaze.

“You have earned my trust.”

The dragon lowered its massive head until it was within reach. It was at least five times her size. Slowly, she placed her right hand against its forehead.

And in an instant, lightning struck. A flood of memories surged through her — generations of knowledge, movements, energy flows, fire techniques she couldn’t name but instantly understood. The legacy of the Red Dragon merged with her own.

When it finally stopped, she pulled her hand back, breathless, her body trembling with the weight of what had just entered her.

Tai Long lifted his head, his voice steady and resolute.

“Now prove to me,” he said, “that you are worthy of the flame that chose you.”

The fire had tested her. The dragon had accepted her.

Now, the world would have to do the same.